[M] Resurrected

[Craze]

http://i.imgur.com/YcI7xIU.png



A booted foot threw itself onto the cobblestone street, drops of mud splattering upwards, scattering themselves over the pavement. Rain poured down onto the man's long, black coat as he pulled up his collar. As he strode over the pavement, the coachman's whip clattered behind him and the carriage drove off.

A large building loomed in the distance, with high rectangular windows and two royal guards standing in front of the humongous entry doors. Japanese lanterns swayed back and forth while fireworks illuminated the skies. As the man dressed in black - who was a mere ant compared to the size of the building - approached the guards, one of them turned towards him and gave him a pleased smile.

"Ah, Your Highness. Arrived at last. If you would follow me, please."

The guard guided the man into the building, dismissing the sound of clattering rain as he shut the doors behind them. "How was the journey, Your Highness?" the guard asked as he took the man's coat. "Slow and tiresome." the man replied, loosening his tie a bit and running a hand through his brown, soaking wet hair. "Well, it's good to have you back, sir." the guard smiled, putting one hand behind his back and gesturing forwards with the other. "Shall we?"


* * * *

"Brother!" a bearded man wearing a crown and rich clothing came walking towards the newly arrived guest, his arms preparing themselves for a hug. And so they both hugged, and the man with a beard gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. "I see you're still the regent king." the man in black responded, a playful grin on his face. "And I see you're still ugly, little brother!" the bearded man joked, and they both laughed. The elder brother - the king - placed a hand on his brother's back, suggesting him to walk with him. "Come. She has been eager to see you again."

They left the ballroom, entering a considerably tinier room, though just as elegant. A red-haired girl, probably no older than twelve, sat on a stool combing her hair in front of a mirror. She dropped her brush with a gasp when she looked in the mirror and saw the two men enter. "Uncle!" she exclaimed, immediately standing up and running into the younger brother's arms. He embraced her and hugged her tightly, then pushed her away slightly to take a look at her. "Wow. You are... big!" he laughed, placing his large hand on her tiny shoulder.

"Well, it has been four years, brother." the king smiled, but he didn't hear him. He was too amazed by how fast the years had gone by and how much his niece had changed. She had wavy, beautiful red hair and her blue eyes were mesmerising. "You're growing up to become a fine lady, Emily." he smiled and nodded, then stood up and ruffled her hair.

The two brothers left the room, heading upstairs to the king's chambers. "She seems happy." the younger brother said, his hands in his pockets as his brother poured them both a glass of whiskey. "It's been five years now. Five years since she died..." the bearded brother spoke after a long silence, giving his brother his rightful glass. "She takes it well." he continued, giving a confident smile.
"She needs a mother, William." the younger brother spoke after taking a sip of the whiskey.
"I know... I know." William replied with a sigh, his smile fading into a frown. He took a sip as well.

"A storm is coming." William gestured towards the windows with his glass. Instead of the calm downpour from before, the rain was now clattering against it with great force. A strike of lightning illuminated the courtyard, and people downstairs were 'ooh' and 'aah'-ing.
Behind the two brothers was a sudden creaking noise, and they saw the door slowly opening. Emily slowly entered the room, a somewhat worried expression on her face. "Father, I'm scared..." she whispered, fumbling with her own fingers as she bit her lip.
"Well, come on then." William said, gesturing her to come. She hurried towards her father, and he laid his left arm around her shoulder for comfort.
"Afraid of the thunder?" the younger brother asked with a compassionate smile. He could relate - he had been afraid of thunder and lightning when he was younger, too. Emily only nodded to confirm. "Well, you mustn't worry." he chuckled, putting down his empty glass. "Nothing can harm you in here."

Ironically, all the lights in the room began to blink and then suddenly gave out. Emily emitted a shriek, and both brothers were caught off-guard for a moment. "Ah, dammit." William said, sighing. "Must be a power outage. I'll tell Robert to fix it. Be back in a moment." he patted Emily on the shoulder and she remained where she was. Just when William reached for the doorknob, the door slammed wide open, knocking him back into the room with immense force. "Daddy!" Emily exclaimed, but when she wanted to run towards him, she was frozen in place by what she saw in the doorstep. A strange and horrifying silhouette stood there in the darkness, illuminated by a strange blue light. The only thing distinguishable was the creepy baboon mask it had for a head, with eyes that emitted a fluorescent blue glow. The younger brother wanted to act, but also found himself frozen in place, struck by both fear and confusion.

The baboon gave out a terrifying scream, distorting both sight and sound in the room. With a snarl, it charged forwards and pressed William onto the ground, clutching its claws around William's neck. The younger brother finally found himself capable of moving, so as quick as he could he took a sword from the shield that was hung on the wall and ran back towards his brother and the baboon creature. Now was his chance, so he held up the sword with both hands, closed his eyes and - without hesitation - landed a powerful strike, hoping to kill the attacker.

A disgusting, piercing noise followed by a shriek confirmed it.

Upon opening his eyes, the younger brother had to hold back both the urge to vomit... and the urge to cry. There, on the ground, with a sword pierced into the head, lay his brother William. His eyes lifeless and a last gasp of breath escaping his mouth. His crown rolled through the puddle of blood, coming to a stop near the fireplace. Emily screamed and cried, while the younger brother remained there with the sword still in his hands. The lights went back on inside the building, giving them a detailed view on the horrifying event.
But that was not all, for the rectangular windows suddenly shattered, and the wind blew inwards with great force. Emily suddenly fell over, and she screamed as she was pulled towards the windows by some invisible force - as if she was being dragged across the floor. The younger brother ran forwards, hoping to save her before she would fall to her death, but it was too late. She was only just out of reach, and he saw her falling to her death.

"My god!" a voice sounded behind him. Upon turning around, he saw several royal guards standing in the room, accompanied by a pale man with slicked-back black hair and lifeless, grey eyes - the king's counselor. "The king is dead!" one of the royal guards exclaimed with horror upon seeing the lifeless body of former king William. Then all their eyes went towards him - the king's brother. "He did it!" the counselor yelled, pointing towards him.

"He murdered our king!"


-- three months later --

"Jude Simon Dawson, former Prince and guilty of murdering our prosperous King William Vergil Dawson, and our beloved Princess Emily Annabeth Dawson."

Drum roll.

A tight noose around his neck.

The sound of paper being unfolded.

A bell chime.

Silence.

"By decree of Lord Silas Crane, now the regent king, Jude Dawson is to be hung by the neck until death. May the Lord have mercy on his soul."


* * * *

Wind blew with great strength, Jude's body laying silently on the white tiled floor. He slowly opened his eyes, briefly blinded by the brightness of the morning light. He slowly stood up, and felt his hairs fluttering in the wind. After growing used to the light, he found himself on a high mountain top in what seemed to be the ruins of a temple. "Where... Where am I?" he questioned, looking around. This was a place far away from civilization.

"Is this... heaven?" he asked, hoping for an answer or a sign. But none came - only the sound of the wind blowing over the hilltops. He felt his body - no bruises, no scars or stains... no burn marks from the rope that had been around his neck. A sudden realization hit him.

"I'm alive."

[Craze]

Jude had been walking for hours, the cool and grassy hilltops had turned into a desert of white sand over the course of his journey. The clothes he had on him were the same as when the hanging took place; a tattered white blouse with a brown sleeveless vest made out of crocodile leather. He was also still wearing the same brown pants, only the lower half had been ripped off, and he did not have any shoes on his feet.

Eventually, the inevitable occurred and he passed out in the heat of the rising sun.

Moments later, he vaguely felt some sort of leathery piece of cloth stroking his cheek. It scraped across his stubble, and all the way up to his eyebrow only to repeat the same movement over and over again. Jude slowly opened his eyes, only to find out the leathery cloth had been a humongous tongue, apparently belonging to a horse.

And what a horse it was. After rolling onto his back, away from the tongue, Jude saw a majestic white horse with a golden mane and crystal blue eyes. It just stood there, staring into Jude's eyes intently. It was not a wild horse, Jude assumed - it had a saddle and seemed tame enough. The two stared at each other for quite a while until the horse uttered a loud neigh, distorting Jude's train of thoughts. He stood up slowly, and cautiously placed his right hand on the horse's muscular neck. The horse seemed not to mind, so he carefully began to stroke its mane.

"All alone, huh?" Jude asked, though he did not expect an answer. He chuckled and looked around. Still nothing but endless hills of white sand. "Yeah, me too." he continued, looking down at his bare feet and biting his lip.

Almost instinctively, Jude slowly climbed onto the horse's back and grasped the reins with both hands. "Easy..." Jude whispered to both himself and the horse, as he gave its mane another stroke. He began to lift the reins slightly, anxiously waiting for the horse to show aggression or disapproval of someone sitting on its back. But it did not show any, so with an abrupt lash of the reins the horse began to trot. Jude leaned slightly forwards, and with another lash he brought the horse into a gallop. Only seconds later, the horse was traversing through the white desert with great speed, leaving behind a trail of dust.

They left the white desert behind them sooner than Jude had expected. A small and beggarly town began to appear at the horizon, and as soon as they arrived at said town Jude left his position on the horse's back and went on by foot instead, holding the horse's reins with his right hand. He soon noticed something strange, though - the inhabitants of said town were all staring at Jude and his horse as if they were from another world.

"You don't want to be walking around out in the open with a horse like that, friend." a voice suddenly sounded behind Jude, and he turned around to see a man who was dressed quite decent in comparison to the other citizens. Apart from his rough beard and messy hairs - and somewhat tattered clothing - the man was wealthy enough to afford a white blouse, though stained and missing a few buttons, a brown coat with matching pants and a set of leather boots. Two pistols and a sword were holstered in his belt. "What do you mean?" Jude asked after a painful silence.

"The name's Jack Stagger, thanks for askin'." the man's voice was as gritty as his appearance, "And all I'm saying is that people might think you're up to something." he continued after spitting on the ground and putting both his hands on his belt. "Y'see, that ain't just your everyday horse right there." he chuckled, nudging his head in the direction of the horse. Stagger laughed even harder when he saw Jude's confused and helpless expression. "C'mere, I'll show you." he gestured, and guided Jude and his horse to a large mansion, probably the biggest building in the town - though that didn't say much. The mansion was not any better-looking than the rest of the ordinary houses. The only real difference was the red 'R' painted all over the mansion's front side.

"The R stands for Rebellion." Stagger spoke as he walked up the set of steps that lead to the mansion's porch. Jude hitched his horse on a pole, then followed Stagger into the house. They walked past all kinds of people, and they were all dressed as 'fashionable' as Stagger was. A remarkable fact was that they were all wearing red bandanas. They walked into a room that had a red 'S' painted on the door. S for Stagger, Jude assumed. They both sat down at Stagger's desk while Stagger took an old book with a leather cover from one of his drawers.

"First of all, you look like a savage." Stagger spoke before opening the book, wrinkling his nose at the man before him. "You're dressed even worse than my people out there. What, you been living under a rock or something?" he joked, though he did not smile, grin or laugh.
"It's... a long story." Jude said, stroking the stubble on his chin.
"I don't doubt that. Well, anyway-" Stagger now opened the book, and turned over the pages until he arrived at the desired page. A horse was portrayed in an illustration on said page, a white horse with a golden mane and crystal blue eyes. Jude's eyes went to the window on his left, where he could see his horse still hitched on the pole. "That's right." Stagger spoke, drawing Jude's attention back to himself. "I don't know where you got it, but count your blessings. The people over here believe that that particular horse is the Grave Walker. The legend tells that Talon guides lost souls from the world above to the one below." Stagger began to pour himself a drink, and Jude tried to remain polite when he was asked if he wanted a drink. Words couldn't explain how thirsty he was. "Talon?" Jude asked after he took a large sip.

"His name. Talon the Grave Walker. They say that once every ten years, Talon brings a lost soul back to life in order to grant him a second chance. Bunch of bullocks if you ask me, but it says so right here." Stagger tapped on the page with his index finger, then drank the rest of his ale. He smacked his lips and then shrugged. "And that's all I can tell ya. The rest of the page, as you can see, has gone missing." and indeed, the lower half of the page was torn off. Jude began to see what was going on here, but he couldn't quite grasp it. Everything that had happened recently had been so unreal. "So... I'm the lost soul?" he asked.
"If you're willing to believe the legend, aye." Stagger mumbled, wrinkling his nose at the now empty bottle of ale. "In my belief, all the horse is is a gift. A lucky finding. Seems to be a strong and powerful one, too. Ride it proud."

"So who are you and what is all this?" Jude asked, curiously admiring the amount of maps and weapons in the room. Stagger laughed. "Long story short - we hate the king. Or, Lord, as he now calls himself. Lord Crane." Stagger's eyes went to a portrait of the pale man with the slicked-back hair, which had lots of knives pierced into it.
"Why is that?" Jude questioned, taking another sip of his ale.
"My god, you really have been living under a rock." Stagger joked, now actually laughing. He cleared his throat and sat up straight. "Well y'see, about three months ago when King William died, his counselor Silas Crane crowned himself as regent king. Everything changed after that. This town right here? We used to be one happy family and we had strong defenses. Now it's a hellhole, pushed aside by our 'prosperous king'." Stagger crossed his arms and coughed.

"Unlike the people out there, I don't plan on sitting down like a sack o' potatoes and watching from the sidelines. So I established this little Rebellion right here. It's not much, but it's growing. Soon, we'll have an army strong enough to push Crane off his throne."
Jude nodded. Sounds like the kingdom had taken a turn for the worst in the past months. "And what about you?" Stagger asked. "What's your story?"
"My name is Jude." Jude said, staring into his glass of ale. He thought it was best to not tell to much of his story to prevent any suspicion or hatred towards him. "A... mysterious occasion murdered what was left of my family. I was falsely accused of murdering them. And now I seek revenge."
"Fair enough." Stagger assumed, standing up from his seat. He placed his hands on his belt and showed a thoughtful expression. "Tell you what, why don't you spend the night here? We'll have better clothes and weapons ready for you in the morning. I can guide you to the edge of town, but I won't go any further than that."

"Might as well." Jude admitted, taking the last sip from his drink.

[Craze]

"We'll have to make a pass through this canyon before we reach the town's borders." Stagger had spoken, as the two men on their respective horses had came to a halt in front of said canyon. It was quite early in the morning, the sun was barely peeking over the hilltops. Stagger had said it was to prevent any suspicion.

Jude had been given new clothing - though the term 'new' was relative. He was wearing a black coat, similar to the one he had been wearing on the night his brother and niece were murdered, only this one was old, dusty and tattered. His bare feet were now booted, and apart from that it was nothing too fancy. Simple brown trousers, a belt around it, and still the same blouse and sleeveless vest. Though he still had stubble on his chin and wasn't given the option to bathe, Jude still looked pretty decent now.

The two were now halfway into the canyon, though their galloping had turned into trotting when Stagger thought something didn't feel right. So they slowed down, giving them the opportunity to pay more attention to the environment. All of a sudden, Jude's horse Talon began to emit nervous neighing. "What is it, Talon?" Jude was about to ask, until Stagger shushed him. "Be quiet, damn you!" he growled to both Jude and his horse.

But it was too late. Something pierced into Jude's shoulder with immense speed and impact, knocking him straight off of Talon's back and onto the ground - it was an arrow. Talon neighed with panic and fear, then galloped out of the canyon, disappearing in the distance.
"Ambush!" Jack Stagger yelled, pulling his reins and making his horse turn around. And indeed, a horde of hooded rangers jumped down from above, bows and swords in hand.

"Well don't just sit there, jump on!" Stagger exclaimed, drops of saliva flinging from his mouth. He nervously looked behind his back to the group of rangers approaching, anxiously reaching out for Jude with his hand. Jude finally managed to yank out the arrow, but it was too late still. As he looked up, he saw a hooded silhouette above him, it's robes fluttering in the wind as he began nearing him very rapidly. Before he knew it, a hatchet was slammed into his chest followed by the heavy body weight of the ranger.

Stagger didn't hesitate for a moment, and immediately lashed his reins repeatedly. He galloped out of the canyon, leaving behind the horde of rangers and Jude's dead body.


* * * *

"You killed the wrong man." one of the rangers hissed to the one that had murdered Jude in cold blood, who had just removed his hatchet from Jude's corpse. "He was in my way." he snarled in return, putting the hatchet back into its holster.
"We don't kill innocents." the first one continued. "We had a chance and you have failed us. The Elders will not be pleased."


* * * *

Jude took a large gasp for air, as if he had been underwater - on the verge of drowning - and only just made it to the surface. But it was not a sea or an ocean he was on, and he was far from wet. A familiar breeze blew through his hairs, and curiously enough...

He found himself within the same temple ruins as before.

The same white tiles and the same green hilltops around him. "What the devil...?" he whispered. He began to realize where he was, though he did not understand how or why. He was certain that he had died twice now, yet instead of dying he found himself back at this peculiar place. He sat up straight, and shook his head with a sigh. This was morbid.

Suddenly he heard a familiar neigh. He looked up, only to be greeted by a thick and leathery tongue that slapped him in his face. He coughed, then opened his eyes to see Talon, the white horse with the golden mane. He chuckled. "You're a persistent one, aren't you?" he said, smiling. Talon made a nodding movement with his head, though it was very abrupt and jerky.

He climbed onto Talon's back again, riding towards a high hilltop so he could overlook the environment. He saw the town and the canyon in the distance. "Might be best to avoid that canyon for now..." he whispered to himself. So he looked in the other direction, though all he saw there was more white desert. Upon closer look, however, he saw a few black dots in the distance that could imply there was a camp or settlement there. "Better than nothing..." Jude admitted, and apparently Talon agreed. Without having to lash the reins, Talon already began galloping to the black dots.

[Craze]

Upon arriving at said camp, Jude found out it were no thieves, smugglers or nomads settling in the desert - they were city guards. Armed to the teeth in their shiny, metal armour and strange lanterns attached to their helmets. "Wonder what the lanterns are for..." Jude thought as he had taken cover behind a crate, his horse placed tactically behind a bush. "Well, a concern for later. I need to know why they are here..." Jude decided to sneak a little closer, hoping to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Make haste. The Colonel does not like to wait." the captain growled, giving orders to the soldiers carrying crates onto convoy carriages. "The Colonel? He's the one who arranged my execution... I think some revenge is in order." Jude thought, a smile appearing on his face. "If I can manage to sneak onto one of those carriages, they'll take me straight to him."

And so, after creating a window of opportunity by igniting a fire at one of the tents in the camp, Jude climbed onto the middle carriages and hid beneath a dark blanket, surrounded by crates and fruits.


--- three hours later ---

The sandy road beneath the carriage had turned into cobblestone. Awaking from a snooze, Jude lifted the blanket just enough to see the dark, gloomy city he had grown up in. Even during broad daylight, the city had a grey atmosphere and fog spread over the streets. The carriage took a left, where they approached a gate with two armed captains in front of it. Both captains were wearing lit lanterns on their helmets.

"Halt. State your business." one of the captains spoke, lowering his crossbow and raising his right hand. He approached the front carriage, luckily not the one Jude was in. "Convoy delivery for Colonel Griggs." the driver spoke with a toothy smile, though he only received a grumpy nod from the captain. "Alright, you may pass. But turn your lantern on, damn it!" the driver nodded, took a torch from one of the walls and used it to lit the lantern atop his helmet. He returned to the carriage and drove into the now open gates.
"Lanterns seem to be a requirement now... interesting." Jude thought to himself after hearing the conversation between the captain and one of the drivers.

"My arms ache." a driver groaned after the carriages had been parked somewhere, "Aye. Mine too. Let us catch a break, ay?" another responded, and they walked away until their footsteps were no longer audible. Jude slowly raised the blanket he was under - the coast was clear. He was going to leave the carriage, until he spotted an opened crate with quivers, bows and arrows. "Convenient." Jude whispered, smiling and taking one of the quivers, stocking it with arrows. He took a bow as well and placed both the quiver and the bow on his back.

Moving away from the carriage in a crouched position - walking on his haunches wasn't comfortable, but it was silent and unnoticed - he took cover behind a few crates, hoping to survey the area and find out where he could find the Colonel. It didn't take him very long, as he saw a humongous building with the Colonel's logo - a golden 'G' with a silver circle around it - on the red flags that fluttered in the wind. "They never did call his work subtle..." Jude chuckled and began making his way to the building, carefully avoiding the guards. The lanterns on their heads didn't make it any easier, but he still managed to evade them.

He found an open window in the back of the building, which brought him to the Colonel's study. The Colonel himself, however, was not here. He took advantage of this situation and decided to take a look at the paperwork on the Colonel's desk. "Lantern helmets... it was the Colonel's idea. Since when has Griggs ever been afraid of the dark?" he noted as he looked at a blueprint of the helmets with lanterns on them.
Jude began searching the drawers for anything of interest, when his fingertips suddenly slid across a wooden button. "A hidden button in the desk? Typical..." Jude laughed, and out of curiosity he pressed it. Jude heard a rumbling noise in the corner of the room, and when he stood up he saw a bookcase shuffling to the left to reveal a staircase leading upwards. "Hidden staircase behind the books? As if it wasn't typical enough already." Jude shook his head and wandered towards the bookcase, carefully walking up via the staircase.

"I don't care if we have no more lanterns left! Double the guards! Triple them if you must!" the Colonel's voice sounded from above. An apologetic and trembling voice was heard - Jude assumed it was one of the guards - followed by the sound of a door shutting. After that, it was just the mumbling voice of the Colonel talking to himself left. At the end of the staircase, Jude found himself in a study very similar to the one below. The Colonel was facing a window, holding a glass in his hand. Luckily, he had his back turned to Jude. There were two doors in the room - the closed one to the left, and an open one that lead to a corridor. "If I lock both of them, I can get some one-on-one time with the Colonel himself." Jude thought, and so he began searching for the key to the locks. After a while, he found it at the place where he had hoped it wouldn't be; attached to the Colonel's belt. Jude sighed and rolled his eyes. "Alright, here goes..."

The closer he came, the more pearls of sweat started to gather on his forehead. He held his hand up, slowly reaching for the key, but it began to tremble and quiver very quickly. His breath also trembled, and he struggled to keep the noise he made to a minimum.

And with a swift and sudden move, he had done it.

The key was in his hand. He couldn't believe it. A relieved smile appeared on his face, then he quickly backed away from the Colonel. As silently as he could, he locked the first door that was already closed. He moved towards the second door, slowly pushing it until it would close. But it made a slow, creaking noise which triggered the Colonel's attention. "Gah!" the Colonel groaned as he saw the unknown visitor, who single-handedly closed the door and locked it with a key. The Colonel reached for the key on his belt, but noticed it was no longer there.
"Evening, Colonel." Jude spoke with a charming smile, removing the golden key from the lock and then dropped it out of an open window behind him.

[Craze]

"Do you not remember me, Griggs?" Jude whispered, slowly walking closer towards the Colonel's puzzled and surprised expression. He was almost frozen in place - granted, he had nowhere else to go. "Not very benign, forgetting a face just like that. Then again... you've hung so many, haven't you?" the corners of Jude's mouth began to tweak upwards, and a sudden realization appeared in the Colonel's expression.

"You... You're the man who murdered King William." he whispered with disbelief. "But that's not possible. You're dead!" he added with a growl, unsheathing his sword and taking on a defensive position towards Jude. "Do you not believe what your own eyes see, Colonel?" Jude emitted an amused chuckle, coming even closer to Griggs. "Perhaps I'm a ghost, come to haunt you." he whispered. "Or..." he stopped walking, then used the element of surprise to throw himself at the Colonel. He pushed him against the wall, one hand on the Colonel's arm wielding the sword, the other on his throat. "...Perhaps I'm just a dangerous man with a grudge." Jude growled, his expression turning foul.

The two stared at each other, the Colonel gasping for breath as he tried to pull Jude's arm away from his throat. Then the Colonel gritted his teeth, and used his free arm to punch Jude square in the face. "Blaggard!" he roared, throwing Jude onto the floor. He ran for the nearest door, smashing the door handle with his sword and then kicking the door open with his foot. "THIEF! ALARM!" he bellowed into the hallways, grinning at Jude as the guards came running upwards.

The room filled itself with guards, forming half a circle around Jude as they pointed their swords at him. They closed in on him, and he had nowhere left to go when he had hit the wall.

Or, so it seemed.

Instinctively, Jude dashed forwards and grabbed the nearest guard. He turned around and threw the guard into the window - it shattered into a million pieces, and the guard fell into the river below. It all happened so fast, it was almost as if the world had slowed down while Jude had done it. He instantly took his chance, and took a leap of faith out of the now broken window. He, too, fell into the river, but it seemed he was more fortunate than the guard who drifted in the water in a puddle of blood above a sharp rock.

Jude felt and saw arrows piercing into the water around him, instantly slowing down as they hit the water. He dove underwater as fast as he could. Alas, he still felt an arrow piercing into his left leg. He grunted, losing a few bubbles of air, but quickly continued swimming further downwards. As luck would have it, he found a sewer tunnel with a rusty grate he could easily yank off. He swam into it, surfacing in the sewer network moments later.

"IDIOTS!" the Colonel roared, slapping one of the nearby guards in the face. "I want him found! You hear me?! I want him DEAD. DEADER THAN DEAD." he yelled, pointing at the water below.

Meanwhile, Jude had climbed out of the water, resting against a wall while he pulled out the arrow stuck in his heel. It hadn't been a fatal wound, luckily. Still, it hurt and he would certainly limp. He grunted as he took a gander at the arrow soaked in human blood. He threw it in the water, taking a deep breath before standing up. "That could have gone smoother..." he complained, limping through the sewers, hoping to find an exit.

Suddenly, Jude froze in place after hearing voices in the distance. "Quick! He must be close!" it was not any familiar voice, but Jude assumed they were the guards from before. "Search every nook and cranny!"
He was quite certain they were guards, so he backed away as quickly as he could. He quickened his limping pace, though it would not take long for the guards to catch up to him. "Exit... exit... I need an exit..." Jude whispered to himself, anxiously looking over his shoulder. Suddenly, he felt a hand clutching onto his arm, yanking him into a narrow passage Jude had overlooked. He could not see the assailant through the darkness, and it was too narrow to lunge or kick at said person. Jude felt himself being dragged through the passage, the stone walls scraping along his back and front.

At long last, the space they were in began to widen and a torch could be seen hanging on the wall. His assailant was not quite what Jude had expected - it was a she. She was dressed rather odd. All of her clothing was black and leather, and she had a black shawl serving as a face mask. Her hair was short and black, her eyes green. Her skin was pale and dirty. "You want to get caught by the guards?" she hissed, taking the torch. She held it up before them, showing a stone staircase that lead upwards. "I just saved your life. You're welcome. Come on, this way." she whispered, swiftly walking the steps. Jude followed, though he was not as quick as she was. And still, she was remarkably silent considering how fast she was walking. She was practically running up the steps and the only sound her feet produced were soft and subtle taps.

Once they reached the end of the stairs, they were in what seemed to be a house. Not a very fancy one, judging by the peeling paint on the walls and the layers of dust on every piece of furniture. Inside the house were more people dressed in black leather wearing face masks. They gave Jude some disturbed glances, but none of them seemed to really care. Still following the woman, they reached a room containing several beds. The woman closed the door behind them and pushed Jude onto one of the beds. "Sit." she snarled, hanging the torch on the wall as she went to fetch something from a closet. Moments later, she came back holding bandages in her hand. She crouched before Jude, removing his boot and taking a glance at the wound on his heel. She sighed and wrapped the bandage around it, just as swiftly as she had walked the steps. "There." she said after she was done, firmly tightening the bandage around Jude's foot. "Won't do much, but it'll stop the bleeding and eventually it'll heal." she added, standing up and pulling down her face mask to reveal the lower half of her face. Not much to note there, except that it was just as dirty as the upper half. "What were you doing in the sewers?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"I was escaping the guards." Jude said sarcastically. "Or... well, I tried to." he mumbled.

"I see." she sighed, going to sit on the bed in front of Jude's. She still had her arms crossed, and now crossed her legs as well. "Why were you running from them? Did you steal?"
"No." Jude replied, stroking his stubble. "I... I assaulted the Colonel."
"Griggs?" she asked, disbelief in her eyes. Jude only nodded. She chuckled and shook her head. "You can't just waltz in there and assault the Colonel. You're lucky that only your heel is hurt."
"I know." Jude admitted, taking a glance at his heel. There was quite a blood stain on the bandage now. "It was a reckless action and I messed up."
"Are you a Blackhand?" the woman asked, a serious look in her eyes.
"Blackhand?" Jude asked. He had never heard of the word before.
"I guess not." she noted, standing up. "That's what they call us. Blackhands. A fancy word for 'thief'." she complained, showing Jude the back of her left hand. Apart from the dirt under her nails and on her hand, the only notable thing was the strange mark on her hand. It portrayed an eye with black lines, like a tattoo. But the edges around the mark proved otherwise - it had been branded on her hand.

"How did you get that? Did the guards brand that on you?" Jude asked, curiously glaring at the mark. He somewhat admired it, though he couldn't imagine how painful it must've been.
"Yes." she sighed, lowering her hand. "If the guards arrest you for thievery, they'll lock you up and mark you as a Blackhand. If you had been caught, you would've had one by now as well."

"So... all of these people here... are you all Blackhands?" Jude questioned, looking around the room. Several others were in the room, but they were asleep.
"Yes. It's hard to get by in legal ways nowadays, so we try to get by in illegal ways." she explained, in a rather casual way. "Besides that, we do our best to take down the pillars the current regime sits on. We used to be able to walk the streets freely, now they treat us like we carry some kind of disease."

An awkward silence fell between the two, Jude didn't quite know what to say. So, eventually, the woman spoke up. "My name's Gale. You?"
Jude bit his lip at this question. There was a possibility that she would respond aggressively if she found out he was related to the Dawsons. But he decided to take a risk.

"Jude." he replied. "Jude Dawson."

[Craze]

Chapter I
Among The Dead

"So let me get this straight," Gale spoke as she and Jude walked through yet another tunnel, though this one was more reminiscent of catacombs. Jude held a torch in his hand, using it to shine light on holes in the walls containing morbid human remains. Some even still had flesh on them, he noticed. He wrinkled his nose and turned away from the skeletal remains, catching up with Gale. "You were King William's brother, and you were framed for murdering him. Crane had you locked up, and then hanged."

"That's right." Jude mumbled absentmindedly, avoiding a horde of cockroaches crawling around under his feet. Gale emitted a frustrated sigh, clearly having trouble understanding Jude's backstory. "Then how the devil are you still here after being hanged?" she whispered, shaking her head. "I can assure you," Jude spoke, "It's as much of a mystery to you as it is to me."

The duo now entered a large, round room filled with more bones and skulls. Among them was a fresh corpse, with clothes still on him and arrows pierced into his corpse. He had been of royalty by the looks of it - his long coat was a rich navy blue with silver buttons and golden linings on the sleeves. A black and silver shawl hung loosely over his shoulders. He also had a golden ring on his right middle finger. "One of the king's men." Gale stated, shedding light on the ring, revealing a red cross serving as the ring's mounting. "Most likely killed by Rangers." she added, taking the ring from his finger and putting it in a brown pouch. "Ring is worth some good coin at the black market." she elaborated, smiling in a pleased fashion. "Well, you can have the ring... but I'm taking his coat." Jude said, taking off his worn and tattered coat to replace it with the royal navy blue one. He also took the black and silver shawl so he could wear it as a face mask, just like Gale had her black shawl. "It suits you." Gale said after he had put the coat on. Jude smiled at her, wanting to thank her until she interrupted him; "Don't flatter yourself. Come, let's get a move on."


* * * *

Moments later the two exited the catacombs, ending up on a rooftop, to Jude's surprise. From up here Jude was able to see the entire city, or what was left of it. The only district that still had some flattering aspects to it was the rich district, where the royal palace was. The rest of the districts were poor and dark, and some were nothing but ruins. "Quite a view, huh?" Gale said, sounding not excited but disappointed. Disappointed of what had become of the city. "We use the tunnels all the time. Gets us across from place to place and it avoids guards." she explained, sighing and taking in the moment for a while before ruining it by pushing Jude forward. "Come on, put your mask on. We're gonna pay your friend Crane a visit."

It would be a long journey to the rich district, but Jude reckoned it would be worth his while. After all, the only thing he desired now was to get revenge. They hopped across the rooftops for a while, before making their way down and cutting through a graveyard. The only graveyard there was in the city - and therefore the graveyard where Jude's brother and niece were buried. They slowed down here, paying respect to the dead. Then they came to a halt at the two graves Jude had hoped not to encounter. Jude sighed and swallowed his grief, looking at his niece's name carved into the the smallest grave of the two. "I'll never forget her face." Jude admitted, a slight tremble in his voice. The wind blew through the trees, spreading a calm breeze over the graveyard. "No matter how hard I try to forget... she's always there. It's never good memories. Always her, staring at me before falling to her death. Blaming me. Blaming me for not saving her. It's never a memory of her singing, dancing, or smiling. Always her face, staring at me. Judging me."

Suddenly the wind blew even harder than before, now actually as if a storm was going on. But it was sudden, and it was only once. It was a powerful gust of wind that left as soon as it came. Jude wanted to turn around and get back to Gale - but she was no longer there. And what was even stranger is that the world around him seemed to be moving. It was as if he was standing in the middle of a raging storm, yet he felt nothing. Trees didn't bend, grass didn't flutter, there was neither rain nor thunder. Just the wind, rushing around him with enormous speed having no effect on Jude or the world around him at all. The more he looked at it, the darker the world became - literally. The grass, the trees, the buildings and the graves were all pitch black, outlined with white.

Again, Jude could hear and see the wind rushing around him, but that was not all. He also heard whispers, like a million voices whispering around him. Some were distant, others right next to his ear. And the longer Jude took in this bizarre happening, the more he saw other people suddenly appearing around him. They all looked like regular people, though they were all somehow transparent and entirely white. They were all performing different actions, but all of them were near a grave. There was a young woman sitting on her knees, putting down flowers at a man's grave. A couple stood next to a very tiny and poor grave, the woman sniffling as she rested her head on the man's chest. There were many more of them, yet none of them seemed to be paying attention to Jude.

Then something caught Jude's attention. It was one of the other white entities, but not an adult. This one represented a little girl, one that Jude unfortunately knew very well. Her curly hair lay on her shoulders as she stared at the flower in her hand with her big, beautiful eyes. "...Emily?" Jude asked hesitantly, but the sound of his own voice was muffled to him. She looked upwards, staring fiercely into Jude's eyes. She released the flower, which dropped silently into the black grass, losing its white colour. Then suddenly the rushing of the wind became louder, and now Jude began to feel the storm. An enormous gust of wind blew into his face, forcing him to close his eyes.

Once he opened them again, he was back in the world he was most familiar with. No raging storm or strange white entities, just Jude, Gale and the graveyard. "We gotta go." Gale spoke with a determined and strict tone. Jude turned around, utter confusion in his expression. Gale sighed. "Look, I'm really sorry about your niece, but we should move." Jude tried to puzzle everything together, but he simply couldn't. he felt dizzy and sick. But since Gale was so impatient-looking, Jude stood up and followed her out of the graveyard.

[Craze]

"Before we go into the Rich District, we need to make a little stop." Gale said, coming to a halt at a rectangular and flat gravestone that had no name on it - just an engraved cross. She placed her hands under the stone, then lifted it up like a hatch. The dirt beneath the stone tumbled into the hole beneath it. Jude sighed. "Another tunnel?" he asked rhetorically, then heading down into the hole.

It was a very narrow underground passage with a torch settled on the wall for every 20 feet or so. Though, no skulls or other human remains for that matter, to Jude's relief. Gale was right on his heels, often telling him to 'keep going'. Easy for her to say - Jude was anything but used to these creepy tunnels. "Who is it we're visiting, exactly?" Jude asked, his eyes following a bug that crawled across the dirt. "Silas Grimm." Gale responded with a slight sigh, as if she had been asked that question one too many times. "Who is Silas Grimm?" Jude responded, fascinated by a vine that had grown straight through the concrete ground.

"The Blackhand King."

The tunnel culminated in an enormous space - it was like an entire city, though perhaps even darker than the actual city above them. Illuminated by torches and lanterns, it consisted of many square houses built out of entirely black bricks and several towers, also built out of black stone. Beyond the city was a majestic palace that looked like an shiny, black crystal growing out of the ground. An odd green light illuminated the palace from within, shining through its seemingly transparent walls. And all of that built underground, supported by tall obsidian pillars.

The two made their way through the hidden city, coming across all sorts of people - yet all of them poor. There was a group of four children, sharing a measly loaf of bread. An old blind woman and her dog, sleeping inside a cardboard box. A man without legs, making his way on a wooden board with wheels. Each sight was more tragic than the one before.

They arrived at the gates to the palace, where two men dressed like the Blackhands Jude had seen before, when first 'meeting' Gale. Though they had better armour, and carried spears. "Mark?" the guard on the left asked, his eyes narrowing at Gale. That's really all Jude could make up out of his face, since his lower half was covered by a face mask. Gale sighed and showed the guard the back of her hand. "C'mon, Harry, you should know by now that I'm a-"
"Not you." the guard snarled at Gale, then he directed his spear at Jude. "Him."
"He's with me." Gale said, stepping in between the two before Jude could even speak. "He's a thief, like us. He just... hasn't been caught." she explained.
"Very well. Come along then, don't dawdle." the guard spoke, opening the gate and practically forcing them to enter.

They came through an incredibly long hallway, with - again - torches providing the light. Though these were not like the others. The fire was green, not yellow or orange. Jude was about to ask about them, until he saw something that left his mouth wide agape.

There, in an gigantic and circular room decorated with effigies of corpses - all lit on fire with green flames - and an enormous throne directly across from Jude, decorated with spikes and a black skull on top. But that wasn't even everything. What really caught Jude off-guard was what was in the center of the room. It was a giant circular pit, with green light coming out of it. It was as if some kind of fog was within the pit, occasionally flowing out of the pit and vanishing into the air. But it was no ordinary fog - Jude could've sworn he saw a face in there.

And right in front of the pit stood a man. A man of roughly 6 feet tall. Yet all that was visible was his silhouette, with the green pit casting a haunting shadow on the obsidian floor. The man was wearing a long, black coat that reached all the way down to his ankles. On his shoulders were silver epaulettes, with small silver skulls on both the right and left one. On top of his head was a black, worn top hat with - you guessed it - skeletal decorations on it. His long, thin and silver hair hung loosely on his back.

Then the extinguished torches all around the room suddenly were set on flame, as if by magic. The man before the pit ominously turned around, revealing a sickeningly skinny and skeletal face. His teeth yellow and rotten, his lips thin and blue. His skin tone was not even a human colour, it was morbidly white. Eyebrows as thin as needles, and eyes that seemed like they could drop out of their sockets any moment now. Bags all around his eyelids, darker than the night.

"Gale..." the man spoke, his voice like a ghastly whisper. He made a slow, yet graceful bow, looking back up at Gale with a morbid grin. "How nice of you to visit." the moment the man spoke a full sentence, Jude noticed he had a very strong Scottish accent. "And who is this... young fellow?" he whispered, stepping forward and slowly scraping his fingernails across Jude's chin. He left his lips in an o-shape after saying the word 'fellow', as if wanting to kiss Jude.
"This is Jude, a... friend of mine." Gale lied, for Jude was more of an acquaintance. Jude smiled awkwardly at the man before him. "Pleasure." he said, taking a small step backwards.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, mister Dawson." the man grinned, shaking a forced handshake with Jude. "Silas Grimm." he then proceeded to walk away from them, taking place on his throne. "I... I don't recall that mentioning my last name, sir." Jude said hesitantly, carefully making his way around the pit in the center so that he wouldn't fall in.

"Oh," Grimm said as he stopped right in front of his throne, looking over his shoulder and grinning. "I know you didn't."

"I'll get to the point," Gale said, not even paying attention to the pit as she walked around it, "We need passage to the Rich District." she spoke confidently, crossing her arms and standing right in front of the Blackhand King. "Do you now?" the King responded, stroking his chin as he laughed in a slightly amused fashion. "Well, you know that I'd be more than happy to provide one... but what's in it for me?"
"I take it you require a sacrifice?" Gale asked, already taking a knife out of her back pocket.
"As per usual." the Blackhand King nodded, putting his hands together and smiling at Gale.

Then Gale proceeded to walk to the green pit, rolling up her left sleeve and turning her wrist to face upwards. She put the knife against her wrist, then took a deep breath. "Not yours." the King interrupted, pointing his long and bony finger at Jude. "I want his blood."
Gale stared at the Blackhand King for a moment, perhaps in disbelief. Then her gaze went to Jude. She lowered her arm, then grabbed Jude's and pulled him towards the pit. "What are you doing?!" Jude exclaimed, his eyes widening at Gale and then at the knife. "You heard him. He wants your blood." Gale spoke calmly, lifting up Jude's wrist and cutting in it swiftly and rough. Jude yelled with pain, grabbing his wrist as he saw his dark red blood fall into the pit. "Oh stop it, it'll heal." Gale snarled, putting her knife back in her pocket.

Then the Blackhand King came down from his throne, rubbing his hands together in a pleased fashion. He stared down at the pit, then took a brown pouch from his belt. He held it above the pit, then allowed it to fall. It didn't take very long before the green light turned purple, and red smoke began to emerge from within. Then both Gale and the King took a step back, however Jude didn't. He was too busy staring down at the now red and purple-coloured pit, that he could only faintly hear the Blackhand King speaking in a foreign language. Immediately all the smoke was drawn to the center of the pit, forming an enormous red skull of smoke. Then it shot out of the pit, crashing into the ceiling and vanishing. Jude was blown away, literally - he fell over and nearly slid into the pit. He quickly scrambled to his feet and pretended nothing happened.

"You know what you have to do." the King spoke, grinning at Gale and giving her a slight push forwards. She nodded, then leaped straight into the pit with a swan dive. Jude wanted to step forwards and grab her, but the Blackhand King pushed him back fiercely. Jude anticipated a crash, or at least a 'thud' - but there was none.

"Your turn now, Dawson." the Blackhand King spoke behind Jude's back, grabbing him by his shoulders and turning him around so that his back faced the pit. "But know, that wherever you may go, I'll be watching... Grave Walker." he whispered ominously, giving Jude one final grin before pushing him into the pit.

Jude did not even remember falling into the pit. He had closed his eyes, and the second he opened them again he was standing with both feet on the ground. Familiar cobblestone under his shoes. Rain trickling down on the street and his shoulders, with rich lanterns decorating the streets and houses made of grey bricks, red roofs and tall windows.
"What took you so long?" Gale complained, already walking ahead of him. "Come on, let's go. We shouldn't be here. Blackhand, remember?" she showed Jude the back of her hand as a reminder, then pulled him by his arm into the streets of the Rich District.

[Craze]

Not far into the Rich District, an enormous fortress loomed above the rooftops. It consisted of massive grey walls connected through enormous pillar-like towers. On every tower was a dark red rectangular flag, calmly fluttering in the wind. Light could be seen through the small windows on every tower.

"There she is. The Bastion." Gale pointed out as the two stared at the gigantic fortress from behind cover. A canal surrounded the fortress, with a small guard boat patrolling it. On the bridge leading towards the Bastion stood two guards, and more were patrolling on top of the walls. "I've been to the Bastion once." Jude said with slight disgust in his tone, "Its' a... social hub for the high and mighty. Filled with rich folk and other snobs."
"Yeah," Gale agreed with the same tone, "They're feasting to their heart's content while we have to crawl in the dirt for our money."

Jude stood up a little, taking a better look at the Bastion. Right in front of the bridge, he saw an abandoned carriage - but with the horses still attached to it. It wasn't your everyday carriage, it was one very similar to the ones stored at the king's palace. "Crane might be in there." he whispered, his eyes still fixated on the carriage. "We have to get in there."
"We can't." Gale exclaimed, yanking Jude's arm and staring him in the eyes fiercely. She then held up the back of her hand. "I'm a Blackhand."
Jude stared at the hand for a while, then looked downwards, seemingly disappointed. He squinted his eyes, then widened them and smiled at Gale. "But I am not."

With the coat Jude had taken from the dead nobleman in the Catacombs, Jude was able to pass for a resident of the Rich District. In the darkness of the night the guards weren't able to see the dirt on Jude's face or hands, so they let him through without question. Once inside the Bastion, Jude went to the nearest bathroom to wash his face and hands. While he was at it he tied his messy hair into a short ponytail. Shaving wasn't an option right now, so they would just have to accept his stubble.

While walking through the hallways, Jude walked past several nobles, both of lower class and high class. All residents of the Rich District though, by the looks of their clothing and snobbish faces. However, upon coming around a corner, Jude spotted a familiar face - and not of the good kind.
In the back of the hallway stood the pompous Colonel Griggs, accompanied by two of his lantern-headed guards. And he was headed his way, coming closer by the second. There was no way to go; the hallway behind Jude was stuffed with people. If he had to barge through there it would only be suspicious. So he decided to keep his head low and attempt to walk past Griggs.

Either Griggs had been drunk, or he really did forget a face easily - for it worked.

Jude slipped right past Griggs, further into the Bastion. Jude now stood in front of the doors that lead to the Wine Cellar, now used as a smaller version of the Dining Hall for quieter conversations and feasts. Inside were Generals, Captains, Soldiers and the like, and at the head of the table - Lord Crane.

Jude's fists clenched as he stared at the despicable snake that had him framed for the murder on his own family. But now was not the time. He had to be patient. All was going well so far. Jude had never really known Crane - Crane had become counselor while Jude was on a 7-year trip - so he hoped that Crane would not recognize him, either. And surely enough, he didn't. Jude silently took a plate and threw some food on it, then went to sit at the table. "Well, well, boys. Looky what we have here." a Captain on the right of Jude said, laughing. Jude anxiously stared at him, anticipating the inevitable. This Captain knew him, why else would he point him out?

The Captain grabbed Jude by his sleeve, pulling on it to show it to the others. "A Governor!" he laughed, yanking the sleeve some more. "We got a bloody Governor sitting at our table! Never thought I'd see the day. Why sit here with the 'common folk', Governor?" he barked, drops of saliva hanging from his lower lip.
"The other rooms were full." Jude lied, shoving a piece of broccoli into his mouth. The other Captains and Soldiers laughed, then they all continued to eat in silence.

Then a croaky and raspy voice sounded from the head of the table. "You know, Governor..." Crane spoke, folding his hands and piercing his eyes into Jude's, "I knew a man who wore that same exact coat and shawl."
Jude grew nervous again, pearls of sweat gathering on his forehead as all the other men turned their heads towards him. "Must... Must've been a man with good taste." Jude said, smiling nervously and quickly taking a sip of his drink. The others chuckled and nodded, even Crane emitted a slight chuckle. But it was not one of joy.
"It's truly sad though," Crane smirked after he put down his glass, "For we found him dead in the Catacombs a few days ago." the smirk faded to replace a meaningful frown.

"That means he's an imposter!" the bulky Captain from before pointed out, pulling his sword from his sheath. He turned his bulldog-like head towards Jude, spitting yet another few drops of saliva onto the wooden table. "I knew he wasn't a Governor when I first saw him!" another Captain commented, this one had a scrawny posture and a snarly voice.

"Yes, an imposter..." Crane whispered, finishing his drink and standing up. He placed his hands on the table and fiercely gritted his teeth. "Now kill him."

In a reflex Jude jumped up from his seat, leaping onto a Soldier's plate, splattering potatoes into the man's face. He only just dodged the Captain's sword, which crashed into the table. Jude continued to run across the table, slipping over plates and knocking over drinks. Hopping over swords that swung from left to right and from right to left. Finally, Jude jumped onto Crane's shoulder and further towards the door. Only when he touched the door, it swung open to reveal an enormous brute standing behind it, axe in hand. "Nighty night!" he roared before slamming his axe into Jude's chest.

[Craze]

Chapter II
The Spirit of Talberon

With a familiar gasp for air, Jude woke up on a tower much like the first one he had woken up on several times before. But this one was different. It was made out of black stone, and was not amid a desert. Instead, he found himself in a high tower not very far from the city. In the distance he could still see the Bastion in all its ominous glory.

"Well... at least I'm not in a friggin' desert again." Jude mumbled, his hand on his chest. He could feel somewhat of an ache or a chest pain, but once he looked there there were neither scars nor blood. In his mind, the words "Grave Walker" haunted him. Jude stood up and overlooked the city. Soon, he spotted the Blackhand mark engraved on a building in the Poor District.

"Grimm!" Jude roared as he once again entered the dark city that lay beneath the ground, where the 'Blackhand King' resided. He barged through the guards at front and entered the room with the green pit. Grimm sat there, in his throne, grinning at Jude. "I was expecting you." he hissed. The guards came running after Jude, but Grimm disposed of them with a simple hand gesture.

"Why did you call me 'Grave Walker'?!" Jude yelled, pointing his index finger at Grimm as he heavily breathed with anger. Grimm laughed and crossed his legs. He folded his hands and stared at Jude, somewhat apologetic. "Because that is simply what you are, Jude."

Jude lowered his arm but still contained his anger. He angrily stepped towards the Blackhand King, suddenly remembering the words Jack Stagger had spoken to him. "The horse is the Grave Walker. Not me. Talion, the Grave Walker. Whatever the devil that may mean." he snorted, angrily crossing his arms like and walking around in circles.

"Calm down, Jude. Calm down. Allow me to elaborate." the King spoke, descending from his throne and sealing the green pit with a hand gesture. On the place where the green pit had been was now a stone floor with the Blackhand mark engraved on it. A rectangular stone rose up from the center of the floor, with a strange orb hovering above it.

"Do you know your history, Jude?" the King questioned with his hands behind his back, slowly walking towards the hovering orb. He came to a halt beside it and turned around to he could face Jude. "I suppose." Jude replied, rubbing the back of his head trying to desperately remember his history lessons. "Good." the King commented, "Then I take it you are also familiar with the Four Authors?"

"Of course." Jude stated blatantly, as if the King had asked a dumb question. "Everyone knows who the Four Authors are. They created this world. Talberon, Mordecai, Celeste and Badeen." he named all four of them from the top of his head. The King clapped slowly and silently. "Very good." he smiled, then turned towards the orb and gestured Jude to come closer. "But are you familiar with their purposes?"

Jude did as expected and approached the orb. It emitted a ghastly blue light. Jude turned his head towards the King and then shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not." the King then grinned and chuckled. "Observe." he whispered, then held his hands beneath the orb as if he wanted to lift it up. But that he did not do.

Firstly, the orb showed a very short, yet buff man. He had rosy cheeks and a large, brown beard. He wore an iron helmet with two metal wings attached to it. He leaned on a large hammer that seemed way too heavy for him to lift up. "Badeen created all that is connected to nature. The earth itself was part of his creation. The forests, the mountains, the rivers... all created by Badeen."

Then the orb shifted colours, turning into a slightly pink glow. It showed a woman with beautiful blonde hair and a pink robe, holding a harp in her hands. Her eyes were strangely green and somewhat cat-like. Her ears were pointy. "Celeste is responsible for all that lives and breathes. Without her, the earth would be stationary and without colour or flair. Humans are part of her work, as well, just like our emotions and feelings towards each other." then the King slightly retracted his hands from the orb. The orb emitted a dark red glow and smoke circled around it.

A man - or rather, a silhouette - appeared within the orb. His tattered cape fluttered in the wind and he wore a horned helmet. He seemed to be dressed in all black armour, apart from his cape of course. Thunder and lightning revolved around him. "Mordecai also had a part in creating this world, most unfortunately." the King commented, yet the grin on his face did not show any pity at all. "All that is evil and dark was part of his work. Obsessed with power and might, Mordecai saw himself as the most powerful of all Authors. And who is to say he was not?" the Mordecai inside the orb seemed to notice the King's words, and he looked over his shoulder to reveal his ominous, yellow eyes. Then he faded away in smoke.

Lastly, the orb shifted back into its naturally blue colour. A man dressed in all white armour appeared within the orb, with long golden hair and pointy ears. His eyes were crystal blue. He held a white staff in his one hand and a hovering rock in the other. "Talberon was given the most obscure task of all. Some say he was a necromancer, others say he was a noble wizard. All we know is that he held power over the dead and other mystical powers. To this day we still believe he guards the gates towards the afterlife."

"But that is not all." the King continued, now waving his hand across the orb. It now showed Mordecai and Talberon standing in front of each other. "Mordecai and Talberon, who were brothers, had always been in conflict. You see, not only did Talberon hold command over the dead, he was also given the task to create the Relics of Myth." now, Jude seemed to show more interest. "I've heard of them." he said, narrowing his eyes at the orb. "Three Relics for the Humble, six for the Elders and one for the Gods."

"Indeed." Grimm continued, gesturing around the orb once more. "Three Relics were given to ordinary men, they didn't contain any real power but had to be kept safe none the less. The demi-gods known as Elders were given six, which - when combined - contained the power to bring the dead to life. Lastly, the Gods were given the one Relic that held the power to bind all Relics together and rule the world." the orb showed the ten Relics, all with a different symbol on them. "As you may have guessed, Mordecai wanted that final Relic. But Talberon did not trust his own brother and saw it as his duty to deliver it to the Gods. And so, the day after, Mordecai slit his own brother's throat in his sleep. Talberon would, from then on, be nothing more but a mere spirit." the orb now showed the silhouettes of Mordecai slitting Talberon's throat, then both vanishing in smoke. "But Mordecai didn't get the Relic, right?" Jude asked, somewhat worried.

"That he did not." the King shook his head. "But he did manage to retrieve three Relics out of ten. Only the six Relics of the Elders and the one binding Relic are not his yet." then the King turned away from the orb, which dropped onto the rectangular stone. The rectangular stone retracted back into the ground. "What does all of this have to do with me?" Jude finally asked, desperately and helplessly raising his arms in confusion.

"It has everything to do with you." Grimm spoke, ascending his throne again. "When you were hung and died, somewhere in the afterlife your soul collided with Talberon's spirit. You are Talberon. You... are the Grave Walker."

Jude stared at Grimm, his hands still heaved in the air and his mouth wide agape. He slowly closed his mouth, then laughed. "That's the biggest load of bullshit I've heard in years." he said, lowering his arms and turning around. He walked away, but the Blackhand King caught up to him strangely fast and unexpected. He grasped his shoulders and turned Jude around.

"Do not take me for a fool, boy." he hissed, the aroma of death and all things rotten emerging from the Blackhand King's mouth. All the tranquility and ominous whispering had completely disappeared, to replace an outrageous anger and blaming tone. "You hold the power to potentially change our future," the King growled in Jude's face like a hungry predator, "Do not waste this gift." he now released Jude's shoulders and stepped away from him, though still facing him.

"Look, old timer, I..." Jude sighed, letting his shoulders hang with a disturbed and confused look in his eyes. "I don't know if I should believe..."
"Then I'll have to force you into believing." the King interrupted, angrily stepping towards him and raising up his bony hand. He forcefully grasped onto Jude's forehead and a blue glow spawned from his fingertips. Smoke sizzled from the King's hands, as Jude screamed in agony.

Jude's vision faded away, as if he was falling into slumber. Only seconds later, he found himself in the strange storm-like environment he entered at the graveyard. Only now he was all by himself, no ghost-like beings to be seen. At least, not in front of Jude...

"So, you do not believe in me." a ghastly and deep-pitched voice sounded behind him. Jude turned around, to see the man he had seen before in the hovering orb - Talberon. He seemed the same, only he was entirely white and his body was a bit fuzzy or blurry. "I, who resurrected you and gave you the power to communicate with the dead. To look in the past and change the future."

Jude's mouth was wide agape yet again, then he sank to his knees and stared at Talberon with an apologetic frown. "Forgive me, Talberon. Please, I was... I was foolish."
"Indeed." Talberon admitted, not showing any sign of remorse or pity. "And I would gladly take your life, if you weren't my only chance of redeeming my soul." Talberon circled around Jude in a slow pace, threateningly staring at the man cowering before him.

"Please forgive me, oh mighty one. I squandered your time with the quest for my own revenge and redemption." Jude apologized, standing up and unsheathing his sword. "I swear, to this blade, that I will carry out your desires and-"
"Spare me your infernal mumbling, infidel!" Talberon spoke, raising his hand and Jude immediately returned to cowering. Talberon came to a halt in front of Jude and crossed his arms. "Now listen to me. We both share similar intentions. You, the man who seeks revenge for a false accusation, and I, the Author who seeks revenge for what his brother did to him. Only then I can redeem my soul and have peace." Talberon now placed his hand on Jude's shoulder and slightly pulled him on his feet. Jude sheathed his sword again and stared Talberon in the eyes. "And therefore, mortal, I see merit in working side by side with you until we both accomplish our goals. I will lend you my power and you shall lend me your body as a vessel." Talberon removed his hand from Jude's shoulder and reached out for a handshake.

"Do we have an accord?"

[Craze]

A hand was shaken.

Moments later, Jude stood atop the rooftops in the Poor District, overlooking the city as he communicated with Talberon within his mind. "Infiltrating a fortress like the Bastion was a foolish move, boy." he whispered, a voice only audible to Jude himself. "Don't need to tell me that," Jude sighed, still feeling somewhat of an ache in his chest, "But how else am I going to get to that bastard Crane?..." he narrowed his eyes and gazed at the streets.

"If you want to get to Crane, you need to start at the bottom of the hierarchy. Make your own path through Crane's underlings, then work your way up to the top. And when you get to Crane..." the voice whispered, drops of rain beginning to pour down on the rooftops. "...we put a blade to his throat." Jude added, lifting up the black and yellow scarf as a face mask.

"And where do I find these 'underlings'?" Jude questioned as he slid down a rooftop, then taking cover behind a pillar to avoid a patrol of guards. "That, I do not know. I am not familiar with Crane, nor this time period. So you'll have to figure that out... for yourself." Talberon spoke confidently, to which Jude responded with a thoughtful frown. Then a smirk grew on his face, though it was not visible through the scarf. "I might know a place..." he whispered, eyeing a dark alley up ahead.

The alleyway was long and narrow, but eventually it lead to the harbor. The tide and the waves rushed up against the rocks and the pier, as rain trickled down on the cobblestones. A lone pub stood on a fragile wharf, creaking and moaning. A wooden, rusty sign hung above the wide open doors, reading "The Lady's Bosom". Inside, a dim yellow light was seen. Distant laughter and gruff voices could be heard from within the pub. "Seems like a lowly place for one of Crane's underlings to reside at." Talberon commented, somewhat of a tone of disappointment in his voice. "My brother, the former King, had a servant of the lower class working for him." Jude spoke, slowly making his way to the pub.
"And how do you know for sure that this 'servant' is still working for the empire? Crane could have fired him for all we know." Talberon replied.

"Well..." Jude ascended the steps and lowered the face mask, "...That's what we're going to find out."

Once inside, the Lady's Bosom was a local hub for merchants, black market dealers and the like. Laughter and merriment were everywhere around, though the atmosphere was filthy and despicable. A man was being beat up on a table in the corner, no one seemed to bat an eye. Another man was harassing a woman atop the balcony, again, no one batting an eye. And so on - everywhere you looked the men were enjoying themselves, though in the most despicable of ways.

And there, at the bar, sat a scrawny and despicable-looking, poor excuse for a man. If you could even call that being human. His skin was a sickening yellow colour, his skin full of wrinkles and scars. His large, hooked nose, like a crow, was constantly sniffing and snorting. His lips were thin and torn, his mouth wide open revealing his scarce, yellow teeth. His right eye was entirely white and bloodshot, the other eye was nothing but a white ball with a small black dot in the center. His eyebrows thin and arched, his hair thin, greasy and unkempt. His clothing was black and brown and seemed to consist of all kinds of animal pelts.

"Is that our man?" Talberon asked, noticing Jude eyeing the man at the bar. Jude simply nodded - he didn't want to come across as a loony talking to himself, especially not in here. He slowly walked towards the bar and went to stand - not sit - next to the scrawny and skeletal creature. "Filch Grinnick?" Jude asked, eagerly waiting for the man to acknowledge his presence. He slowly turned his head - clearly he was drunk - and looked at Jude from top to toe. "Aye, that's me." he spoke in a filthy Cockney accent, shortly burping, "And who is you?"

To this question, Jude could not simply state his actual name. Not only would it put this whole mission at risk, it would also trigger Filch to remember Jude at some point. Jude and Filch did not know each other well, but they did know each other's names. Filch may have been a ratbag, but he'd never forget a name. "Dom..." Jude simply said as fast as he could, eyeing a poster that read 'Come Visit The Dome!' "D-Dominick." he restored himself, then quickly eyed a beer glass on the bar. "Pint. Dominick Pint." he said confidently, though pearls of sweat gathered on his forehead.

"Pint." Filch repeated, grinning. Then he chuckled. Then he laughed. A despicable, wheezing laugh which spread drops of saliva all over the place. "Seems like an unfittin' name for a boy so sober!" Filch squeezed Jude's cheeks and laughed again. Then he released them, briefly scratching across Jude's skin with his long nails. "Do you still serve the empire, Filch?" Jude asked, getting to the point and waving away Filch's previous words.
"What fer do you want to know, Pint?" he snarled, emphasis on 'Pint' which spread more saliva drops over the wooden bar. "I ain't gonna tell some flunky in a coat whether I'm still servin' the empire or not. Hell, I ain't gon tell you anything!" he laughed again, then he leaned forwards and rubbed his index finger and thumb together in front of Jude's face. "Unless there's money to be made, o'course." he grinned and emitted a devilish chuckle.

"Tell... Tell you what," Jude spoke from the top of his head, quickly eyeing a game of 'Liar's Dice' in the corner of the pub. "We'll settle this with a game of Dice instead. I win, and you tell me all I need to know."
"And wot if Filch wins?" Grinnick gritted his teeth and leaned further forwards.
"Then you get to take my life." Jude stated confidently, smiling.

Filch stared at Jude blankly for a moment, then burst out in laughter again. He jumped off the stool and rubbed his hands greedily, waddling towards the table with the dice and cups on it. "Consider youself dead, bluebird." he mocked, licking his black lips.
"What are you doing?!" Talberon questioned worriedly inside Jude's mind, to which Jude only smiled. "Relax." Jude said, rolling his shoulders and following Grinnick. "Eternal resurrection, remember?"

[Craze]

"I takes it you know howta play, muckworm?!" Filch blurted out rhetorically as he sat down on a barrel on the other side of the round, wooden table. Jude went to sit down across from him. To his right sat a fat, green-skinned being with horns and an extremely upturned nose. He stared at Jude, then snorted and laughed slowly. To Jude's left sat a more human-looking man, though still as ugly as the others. He was scrawny and skeletal like Filch, only a lot taller and he had a long, stretched face with a sharp chin and a ponytail atop of his head. He didn't seem amused at all by Jude's presence.

"Yes, I do." Jude spoke, taking a wooden cup for his own and a set of five dice just like the others. The game was rather simple if you knew how to play - everyone would shuffle their dice inside the cup, then turn their cups over and look underneath to see the amount of dice they had thrown. No one else was supposed to see your amount but you.

Once you knew, you'd gamble for a certain total amount of dice among all the players. Say you had two fives, then you could simply bet 'two fives'. But if you wanted to play more dangerously, you could also bet 'three fives' and wager that someone else had a five as well. The person after you could either bid more, say you are correct or call you a liar.

When bidding more, the game continues and the next person can either bid for more fives like 'four fives' or 'six fives', or he could choose a different amount - but the numbers had to be higher. 'Four two's' or 'three sixes' for example.

If he were to say you're correct, everyone has to show their dice. If your bid was three two's, and there are three two's in total, you lose a die and the person who called you correct loses none. If there is more or less than the amount that was bid by you, then the person who called you correct loses a die for being wrong.

Finally, when being called a liar, everyone shows their dice. Again, the outcome is determined by the total amount of said dice. If your bid was 'three sixes', and the total amount of dice of six on the table is indeed three, the person who called you a liar loses a die. If there is more or less than three sixes, you are a liar and you lose a die.

The game began.

Filch was up first. The group shuffled their dice, threw their cups on the table and looked underneath them individually. Filch closed his cup again to hide his dice and grinned maliciously. "Two sixes." he smirked, and the people all around the table - that weren't playing - chuckled along with him.

The horned fatty was up next. He crossed his arms and leaned on the table, which shifted a little to his side due to his weight. He snorted and spat onto the ground, then placed his bid. "Three sixes." all around the table, 'ooh's and 'aah's were heard.

Jude's turn. He looked under his cup again - he had forgotten what his hand was. "One six, three two's and a five. Are you going to outbid him?" Talberon spoke within Jude's mind, to which Jude simply closed the cup and did not reply in any way. "Four sixes, gentlemen." he said with a bold smile on his face, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow at the opponent sitting across from him.

"Filthy liar." a disapproving and snarly voice blurted out to his left. The tall and skinny one wrinkled his nose at Jude and angrily slammed his fist onto the table. "I ain't got no bloody sixes, so let's see them dice." he growled, removing his cup and showing his hand. As did the others, and Jude.

Indeed, the tall one had no sixes whatsoever. Filch had two sixes, which gave Jude a slight sensation of relief. The green one had one six, just like Jude. Four sixes in total. Jude laughed and the tall one roared in anger and practically began to pull out his hairs in anger. Suddenly, two men stepped out of the crowd behind the tall one and grasped onto his arms. They pulled him away from the table, dragging him away as he screamed and yelled.

"Where's he going?" Jude asked, curiously eyeing the tall one being dragged away, but he vanished within the crowd. "This ain't just your everyday game of dice, boy." Filch replied, smacking his lips and gritting his teeth. "You lose one round in here, you lose everything. Including..." Filch brought his hand closer to his face, then drew an imaginary horizontal line across his throat. The crowd around him laughed and the green fatty did as well, his belly wobbling with every laugh.

"Now you see what you've brought us into? If you die now, there is no possible way we can get to Filch again without scaring the life out of him." Talberon complained, but Jude simply grinned. "That might actually work in our favor." he whispered.

"What'd you say, boy?" the green fatty bellowed, letting his bulldog mouth hang wide open, revealing all the saliva and green slime inside. Jude burped and held back the vomit coming up his throat. "Nothing that matters. Let's continue, yes?' he said, taking the cup and shoving the dice in. The group of three shuffled their cups, placed them on the table and looked at their hands.

"Two threes." the green one said after Jude had seen him counting the dice one by one with his fat, sausage-like fingers. Jude nodded and looked at his own dice. Not a single three among them. "...three threes." he said, eyeing Filch and the fatty one by one. Snorts and chuckles were heard from the crowd.

"Four." Filch said, laughing devilishly. "Four threes." he grinned, specifically at Jude. Clearly he was upping the stakes here, trying to get deep with the sharks. The fatty seemed to go down the same road. He didn't even look at his dice and blurted out; "Five threes!" slamming his fists onto the table and laughing, looking around the crowd. The crowd laughed and slapped their knees.

Jude stared at his cup for a long time. Silence filled the room, apart from occasional whispers from the crowd.
"He's gonna die now, the bastard."
"Boyo don't know what he's doin'."
"I wager ten pounds he's gon' die t'night."
"Heh. I wager fifteen!"
"Quiet, quiet, he's gon' speak..."

And speak he did. Jude placed another bid, speaking slowly but certainly.

"Six threes."

The whole crowd went silent with suspense. Not even a slight murmur or whisper was heard. Both Filch and the green one stared at Jude with confused and despicable stares. The green one looked even more puzzled than Filch, though.

"You. Fuckin'. Liar." Filch spoke, his spit spreading all over the table. "LIAR!!!" he now screamed, standing up and pointing his bony finger at Jude. The crowd cheered and clapped, knives were unsheathed and guns loaded. But no one did anything yet - as the table hadn't shown the dice yet.

One by one the players revealed their amount. Filch had two threes. Greenie had two, as well. And Jude... Jude had none. Four threes in total. After the short silence that had fallen when the dice were shown, Filch clapped in his hands once and unsheathed his dagger. "Kill the bastard!" he snarled, and the crowd cheered with anger and sadistic joy.

"Come now, pretty boy!" a man spoke behind him, wrapping his arm around Jude's throat and poking his knife into his cheeks. "I'm gonna cut you a new orifice. Nice... and slow." the people around him laughed, and two other men began to lift Jude up by his legs. He was thrown on a table. Ropes were revealed and used to bind Jude to the table as tight as possible. They spun him around on the rounded table, like it was some kind of spin-the-bottle game.

One by one, people started jabbing their knives into Jude's body whenever a body part came close to them. All around Jude could feel his body being shredded to pieces, eventually leading to a man cutting off his arm completely. Jude screamed and yelled, but they did not stop. In fact the table spun faster, and the cuts became deeper and more intense. At last, a large meat cleaver was slammed into Jude's skull, splitting in half instantly. In his last seconds of life, Jude could feel - and see - the cleaver being removed and used again to separate his head from his body.

[Craze]

Chapter III
Forging Bonds

"Now would you look at the mess you've gotten us into." Talberon spoke fiercely, appearing in his incorporeal - though visible - form beside Jude on the high tower close to the city, the one Jude had awakened from after his murder in the Bastion. "We've achieved exactly nothing, besides making that ratbag Filch more cocky than he already was."

"Calm yourself, I've got it under control." Jude replied just as angrily after he got onto his feet. He looked around and could not prevent himself from asking a question that had to be asked. "These towers... these, these ruins... why do I keep being resurrected on one of them?" he asked, letting his hand slide across the moss the ruinous tower had been collecting.

"They are known as the Towers of Awakening." Talberon raised his right hand and the lines carved into the stone ground of the tower began to glow blue, revealing a remarkable symbol. "In the times of the True Civilization, the civilization of the Gods, they were the towers that bound the human world to the world beyond. Places where spirits could communicate with the earthly beings and vice versa." the wraith lowered his hand and the glow faded. He sighed and stared at the remains of the tower with remorse. "Now they're only mere ruins of what they once were. But they do serve as a... 'spawning' point for us, if you will."

"I see. Well, if you'd be so kind... work your magic and jump back into my body, will you?" Jude said with a charismatic grin, though the specter was not even mildly amused. Never the less, he narrowed his eyes and his spectral appearance vanished into thin blue smoke, rapidly gushing into Jude's body. Jude flinched and had to lean against a pillar to maintain balance, then he shook his head and sighed. "Thanks." he muttered with sarcasm, raking his hand through his hair and leaping down from the tower.


* * * *

"Enjoying your evening, Filch?" Jude spoke with an intended ominous tone in his voice. He seriously lowered his pitch and put on a serious expression, and to strike more fear into the little vermin he placed his hand on the handle of his sword - but didn't unsheathe it. Filch, who was digging in some garbage can for food or a drink, looked up from the pile of trash and protectively pulled the can towards him. It was too dark for Filch to actually see who was threatening him - Jude was merely a silhouette from his point of view.

"Mind your own business!" Filch snarled, continuing to dig around in the garbage. Then, Jude stepped forward and into the light of the setting sun. Filch looked up once more, then gasped in fright and fell on his back, kicking over the garbage can as he tumbled. "You! But how?! You can't - what is - I don't..." Filch stuttered, widening his eyes. He caught his breath, then his feared expression replaced itself with suspicion and anger. "W-We had you killed last night! You're dead! I remember watching your own head roll on the floor!" he said, pointing his trembling finger at Jude.

Jude remained silent, slowly unsheathing the sword from its sheath. Step by step, he approached Filch, a blue glow briefly shimmering through his eyes. "WITCHCRAFT!" Filch screeched in panic, scrambling onto his feet and running away on his short, fragile legs.
"Allow me." the wraith spoke to Jude, as a turquoise glow spread itself across Jude's body. "What are you doing?!" Jude exclaimed, as his body began to quiver and tremble.

"Trust me. I will not let Filch get away."

In a split second, Jude dashed away from his stationary position with extreme speed. A trail of green smoke covered his tracks, and with a ghastly hiss he tackled Filch. With Jude's inhuman speed, the two crashed into an abandoned shack. The glow left Jude's body, but he now had Filch cornered.

"Now..." Jude pressed his blade to Filch's throat and pressed him against the wall, "...I want you to tell me exactly how I can work my way up to Crane... and kill him."
"O-Okay! Okay! I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything!" Filch stuttered, then Jude released him from his grasp and sheathed his blade. He crossed his arms and went to stand across from him. "Start talking."

"Crane is one who likes to get his stuff organised, the control freak. He's got several 'ranks' serving as categories for his men. I think there's three ranks, off the top of my head. First of all, there's the Minions... I'm one of 'em. They're just ordinary soldiers or servants, really. Crane 'imself is even to posh to properly interact with us. Thinks he'll get all kinds o' diseases.

The second rank are his Elites. They're kind of like Crane's personal bodyguards. There's four of 'em, and each one is as powerful as the other. They's even got titles, the cocky sons o' bitches.
The first one is Byorn Troll-Born. As 'is name suggests, he's half human and half troll. A real war machine he is, 7 feet tall and armed to the teeth. Carries two enormous axes like it's nothing.
Then there's Niz the Bone Collector. He's nimble and agile, he is. His armor consists of the bones and skulls of 'is victims, and he's a pretty good shot with that enormous crossbow of his.
Thirdly, we have Raghul Man-Eater. He's a cannibalistic individual who takes joy in feasting and drinking. He hunts both monster and man, thought he latter seems to have his personal preference.
And the final and fourth Elite is Colonel Griggs. How he worked his way up the ranks is a riddle to me. Ain't nothing remarkable about him 'cept his ugly face.

The third rank consists of just one man. The rank don't have a name, but everyone knows they shouldn't mess with this guy. He leads hundreds of armies and has defeated countless enemies. Some say he dips his food in the blood of his victims. He's known as Achilles the Warlord. No one's ever seen his face, as his whole body is covered up in obsidian armor. If you want Crane... you're gonna have to go through him first."

[Craze]

"These Elites... how do I get to them?" Jude asked after both he and Filch had calmed down a bit. Out of fear, obviously, Filch had been more than willing to cooperate with him. "Well, you know where to find Griggs I assume. His place stands out like a Priest in a crowd o' soldiers. As for the others... they're all immigrants from the Emberlands, so most of 'em settle down in a camp of sorts just out of town. If you're lucky, though, you might find one of 'em attending something like a hanging or a duel." then Filch shrugged, "Just a lucky guess."

"Do you mean to tell me one of them is attending a hanging today?" Jude continued, not at all paying attention to Filch's shrugging or him claiming it had been a guess. Filch searched for the right words and opened a bag of rotten peanuts in the meantime. He stuffed a few in his mouth and took all the time he needed to chew and swallow them. "Well, I mean... I just 'appen to know that uh... usually, 'round these days they're hanging folks, yeah. And most of the time there's some kind of high-and-mighty mumbo jumbo attending 'em. So your best guess might be the bell tower, where all them important executions take place." Filch muttered, then quickly ate more peanuts to prevent further questions. Jude stood up and sighed, dusted off his clothes and raised his 'face mask'. "You've been more than helpful. But don't think this is the last time we'll meet."

And so Jude left the alleyway and made his way to the bell tower along the rooftops. "Back there, in the alleyway... what was that thing you did? I had the speed of a horse. Faster, even." he questioned to the specter.
"It is one of the many uses for the magic I possessed. When we were bound together, I had forgotten all of them... but I can feel my powers returning to me. With each memory I remember my power grows stronger." Talberon answered. "Perhaps you'd like to test them out... without my help?"
"Exactly what I was hinting at." Jude grinned and hopped onto a long stretch of rooftops - long enough to perform one of those 'speed bursts' he experienced earlier through the power of Talberon.

"Now, be very careful, as I do not-" but before Talberon could finish, turquoise smoke already wrapped itself around Jude's body and he flew forward at immense speed, as if flung forward by an invisible force. Like a bullet he shot forwards, only to bump into a chimney and lose all his speed. Jude grunted with pain as he lay against the chimney, rubbing his shoulder. "That's gonna leave a mark..." he complained. It was only then that he noticed where he was - he had arrived at the bell tower, and indeed, four individuals were positioned on their knees with their hands tied behind their backs on the bell tower's plaza. A large crowd was gathered in front of them, leaving a space of about 20 feet between the ordinary townsfolk and the unfortunate victims soon to be executed. Behind the four men dressed in rags was a large, chubby yet muscular green-skinned humanoid being dressed in thorny armour and wielding two massive axes. Byorn Troll-Born.

"See here these maggots! These... UNWORTHY animals!" Byorn roared, slamming his axes together and growling like a mad dog. "They've stolen bread, fruits, even MONEY! And today is pay-day, filthy maggots!" Byorn laughed and heaved up his arms as the crowd cheered for him and shouted his name. "Today you DIE!" he roared again, the crowd cheering even harder. Then the first of the four victims was heaved on his feet, which silenced the crowd with suspense.

"And what have you done to deserve this fate, love?" Byorn asked, almost touching the victim's nose with his own. He gritted his teeth and awaited the response of the man eagerly. "I... I... I stole money." he whined. The crowd immediately began 'boo'-ing and throwing rotten fruits all over the place. "Please! Have mercy!" the man then cried, struggling and kicking his feet as Byorn pulled him up by the back of his ragged shirt. "It was for my wife and children! I swear!" the man genuinely started crying now, but he was abruptly silenced by one of Byorn's axes cleaving the man's head clean off his shoulders. With a swift movement Byorn dropped the man's body only to catch the man's head, holding it up like a trophy as the crowd cheered. The other victims tried escaping, but were held down on the ground by some of Byorn's men.

"If you were waiting for an opportune moment... you just missed it." Talberon complained, while Jude watched the execution from above. Jude lowered the scarf and stared at the man's decapitated body with grief. "I didn't think he'd actually kill him." Jude whispered.
"The world is not all fairy tales and merry stories. From your point of perspective it may have been all moonlight and roses, but not everyone has that luxury. This is the real world. Now act before he kills another."

And so he did. Talion leaped down from his perch and landed right between the crowd and the execution line, a cloud of turquoise smoke blowing upwards from Jude's feet. He stood up and unsheathed his blade, pointing it at the half-Troll barbarian. Byorn dropped the man's head to replace it with his second axe. "Why don't you take on someone with a sword?" Jude asked, narrowing his eyes.
"You dare interrupt my execution, man filth?!" Byorn roared as the victims were dragged into the background by Byorn's men. The crowd backed away from the two to make room for a battlefield. "I guess I'll be tasting the blood of five men tonight!" he bragged, taking on an aggressive stance.

With a swift dodge Jude managed to dodge Byorn's first brutal attack - he had the advantage of being shorter and skinnier than Byorn - to strike back with a firm and brave strike against Byorn's back... only to have it bounce straight off Byorn's armour. With a deep and growling chuckle, Byorn turned around and heaved up his axes again. This time, luck was once again Jude's savior - sparks flew up from the cobblestones as the axes made contact with the ground, as Jude rolled away just in time. "Stop dodging... and FIGHT!" Byorn roared, heaving up his axes again and attempting to hit Jude multiple times. But with every strike, Jude got better at dodging the attacks.

Then the inevitable happened. Byorn eventually spotted the pattern of Jude's movements and made a clever move. He heaved up his axes and swung them horizontally instead of vertically, resulting in an attack that would have been impossible for Jude to dodge. It was through the newly acquired power that Jude dodged it, engulfed in turquoise smoke as he backed away at least 30 feet within seconds. Byorn stumbled to his side, as the force of the swing was too great to balance out. He stared at Jude with both anger and surprise. "...Witchcraft!" he blurted out, angrily standing back up and readying himself for a charging attack.

"Enough combat, Troll-Born..." Jude muttered to himself, sheathing his blade and replacing it with the bow on his back. He slowly took an arrow from the sheath, but rapidly positioned it on the bow and pulled it back swiftly. He closed one eye and used the other to find a blind spot - Byorn's face.

And just as the half-Troll charged forwards, Jude released the arrow and it flew through the air with immense speed, landing in the brute's right eye. Blood splattered across Byorn's face and he screamed in agony, dropping the two axes and grabbing his face with both hands. "My eye!" he squealed, eventually yanking out the arrow and breaking it like a twig. "I'm not staying around for this! Kill him!" he cried, backing away and then eventually running away, charging his way through the crowd.

With the required luck, Jude managed to fend off Byorn's men. The crowd quickly left after Byorn had, and it was just the three remaining victims on the plaza. The first one stood up and thanked Jude after his ropes had been cut. "Thank you, sir. Thank you. I owe my life to you, sir." he said, fiercely shaking Jude's hand. "Do you have any idea where Troll-Born may have gone?" Jude calmly though sternly asked.
"He has a settlement just north out of town. You can find him there, sir." the victim answered like a humble servant, pointing towards the town gates. Jude nodded towards the man and began to walk away, then going into a jog and finally into a sprint. "Best of luck to you, sir!" the victim called out, waving and freeing his companions.

[Craze]

"And suddenly this bloke appears, right out of the blue!" spoke Byorn Troll-Born as he had gathered around a campfire with some of his men. An eye-patch was patched over Byorn's right eye, with a stain of blood around it and a bloody trail leading to his jawline. The fire cast haunting shadows over the area around them, ensuring suspense and mysteriousness. "He crashed down right in front of me, a sword in hand, leaving behind this curious blue aura of smoke..." Byorn continued, gesturing with his hands. "Of course I took him on rightaway, he was only a scrawny bloke he was, but before I knew it the sly fox shot an arrow right in me eye."

As Byorn told this story of his, one of his men chuckled. "And then you fled, boss?" he asked, his shoulders shrugging with every giggle as his devilish grin grew wider. Byorn slowly turned his gaze towards his henchman and began to growl. As his henchman laughed louder, other men started to laugh as well. It was then that Byorn's hand slid towards his axe and he cleaved the henchman's head right off his shoulders. All the men were silenced in an instance.

"Byorn Troll-Born does not flee." Byorn growled afterwards, putting his axe back besides him and leaning in towards the fire. Most men remained where they sat in forced silence, others left the campfire.

Not that far from said campfire, other men of Byorn were slaughtering animals, loading barrels of alcoholic beverages into carriages, driving slaves and so on. What they did not know was that a human predator was watching from above...

"You mean to take on some of his men first?" Talberon questioned as the faint blue glow enveloped Jude's body. His pupils began to emit an odd glow, as well. "Yes. Weaken the army before taking on the chief." Jude confirmed, looking at the men below like a hawk. "Good plan."

And with those words, Jude left his perch with a blue flash within seconds, leaving behind only a ghastly outline of where he had been. Below, on the ground, he reappeared, although he stumbled a little before getting in a strong pose and unsheathing his sword. "I didn't know we could teleport..." he mumbled as the men around him unsheathed their swords as well. Some of them fled in fear, too. "We can't." Talberon replied with a slight chuckle. "We just moved really fast."

With the help of Talberon's ghostly powers, Jude slashed his way through Byorn's men like it was nothing. With every lethal strike more men fled from the battlefield. At the very moment when Jude had one of the men on his knees and held up his sword ready for a final blow, he was halted by a familiar voice in the distance.

"Man filth!"

As Jude turned around, the man who was on his knees took his chance and made a run for it. Jude slowly lowered his sword and a determined look grew on his face as he stared at the one who had 'called out' to him.

"You took my eye..." Byorn growled as he pointed towards his right eye. Slowly, though certainly, he approached Jude and made provoking signatures with his axes. "Not a very good way to start off a first meeting, I'd say!" he roared, holding up his axes and laughing. The men behind him laughed in unison with the half-troll. "So why don't you and I give this another go, eh?" he added, smirking and licking his lips at the thought of decapitating this 'man filth'.

Thus the brute and the man clashed again, which again resulted in an unfair battle where Jude was constantly rolling and dodging while Byorn swung his axes around. After a good 20 minutes of this dance, Byorn roared in anger. "I've had enough of this!" he swung his right axe around in the air, which was - apparently - a signature used to signal his men to come forward. And they did. All of the remaining men of Byorn's private army dashed forwards and clashed blades with Jude.

"We must flee, Jude. This is a battle we cannot win." Talberon assured him, but Jude would not listen. With every strike that landed on him, he grunted, but kept fighting. Eventually he was weakened to the point of collapse and he fell on his knees. Byorn roared again and the men backed away from Jude to allow the half-troll to enter the battlefield again. "Now the tables are turned, man filth..." he commented with a despicable smirk. There were no axes in his hands, instead he held a massive spear in his right hand.

"I still need a head on one of my effigies... yours will suffice." he growled and raised the spear in the air, then slamming it into Jude's torso rather than throwing it. He yanked it out again with a vicious roar, with blood gushing out of the hole that had been made. With one final thrust the spear pierced through Jude's skull and that was the last of him.


* * * *

"It's been several days and no progress to be seen ANYWHERE." Talberon complained as the two stood on the tower once again - Jude sitting on the ledge in a rather depressed and angered fashion while Talberon walked around and gestured angrily. "I am just not strong enough." Jude mumbled.

"Now is not the time for self-pity, Dawson." the wraith spoke, stepping forwards and lifting Jude up on his feet. "Yes, we are not strong enough yet, but that does not mean we should be wasting time taking on these... these brutes." he pointed out, his index finger directed at Jude's face. "Well, what do you suggest?" Jude responded, demonstratively crossing his arms. At this Talberon did not have a direct answer. He stared into the distance and then returned his gaze to Jude. "Something tells me we should pay a visit to that Blackhand King of yours."

[Craze]

"So you take on one of the weakest of Crane's elites and yet you still manage to fail." the Blackhand King spoke with an amused grin, "You fascinate me, Jude. You are gifted with so many spiritual powers and you don't even use them!" he threw up his arms in the air and laughed a wheezing laugh. He took off the top hat with the skulls and raked a hand through his thin, though greasy hair. "But you can show us HOW." Jude suddenly spoke in the voice of Talberon, while a blue glow shot through his eyes.

Grimm stared at Jude for quite a while, in slight fascination yet also with surprise. Then he smiled and walked towards him, grasping him onto his shoulders. "See?! You are learning as we speak! That is the power you need to awaken, Jude... bring the spirit out into the world. Become the spirit. Bind yourself to both the land of the living and the land of the dead." then Grimm released him and wandered off to his throne, pondering and expressing his thoughts through murmuring. "I... I might have something for you. Something that will aid you in your... quest." he whispered, still with his back turned towards Jude as he searched his collection of skulls, voodoo dolls and other nasty things.

Finally, he revealed an obsidian stone with a symbol engraved in it. He held it up in front of Jude. "Strange." Jude commented, a nervous smile appearing on his face as his hand hovered above the stone. "I've never felt attracted to a rock before."
In an instant, the Blackhand King turned furiously insulted and pressed the stone against his torso as if it were his child. "This isn't just a rock!" he snarled in high pitch. Then he held the stone in front of Jude again and stroked it, cherished it. "This... is an ancient rune. Crafted by the Elders. These stones are said to hold mystical powers... but no one knows how to awaken them, so most people just keep 'em as keepsakes or souvenirs."

"And why would you show this... rune... to me?" Jude questioned, still feeling mighty tempted to touch the stone, as if the feeling of caressing the slick texture would be orgasmic. "Well... I was having hopes that you, or more importantly, the spirit you are connected to would be able to awaken the power that lies within this rune. This specific rune goes by the name of Keoja, which means 'chain' or 'chains'." the King hissed, a sly look appearing in his eyes as he brought the rune closer to Jude. "Perhaps all I need to do... is touch it...?" Jude whispered, bringing his hand closer to the rune almost in some sort of trance. Then, like a magnet, Jude's hand grasped itself onto the stone and a white flame engulfed Jude's hand. With an agonizing yell, Jude's vision faded and he felt his body collapsing onto the ground.


keðjur stáli skrölt og hvísla

eins ormar þeir kyrkja bráð sína

í myrkri, þú skalt binda fjandmaður þinn

og beygja hann til að vilja þínum


"That was quite the slumber, Dawson." the Blackhand King sat in his throne with a glass of wine, toasting to Jude with a sly grin and a wink. Jude rubbed the back of his head and looked around. "Where is the rune?"
Then the King laughed. "You tell me, boy! When you touched it, a white flame appeared and suddenly it was gone! You were out for quite some time, too." the King took a sip of his wine, then put the glass down and smacked his lips. He descended from the throne and knelt down in front of Jude. "Did you... learn anything new?" he asked, a hopeful shimmer in his eyes.

Jude leaned backwards, letting out an exhausted sigh. "Not that I know of." he admitted, squinting his eyes to remember what he had dreamt of when he blacked out. "All I remember are a few words, or a chant perhaps... in some foreign language." Jude stood up and examined his hands - nothing to see, no burn marks or anything.
"That is disappointing." the King complained, his voice turning into a dark whisper. He stared into the abyss that was the giant pit in the center of the room, filled with whispers of the dead and haunting images. Then, with a stern and determined look on his face he turned around. "Find Byorn. Make him pay for what he's done to you." he snarled, leaving Jude in a slightly disturbed and surprised fashion. "Uh... alright. Yeah, sure." Jude nodded and left the throne room.

"Make haste, Dawson." the Blackhand King whispered after Jude had left, staring into the pit with intrigue. "A storm is coming... for all of us."


* * * *

"So neither you, nor the Blackhand King knows what's happened to me after I touched that rune... that bodes well." Jude sighed, kicking away some dirt as he sat in front of a campfire he had made. Talberon stood next to him, watching over the hills as they both waited for nightfall. "We will discover soon enough. For now, vengeance is in order." Talberon pointed into the distance. Jude stood up and went to stand next to him, looking at the valley inbetween the hills. "There is our target - gloating in his victory." and indeed, followed by a group of 6 men, there walked Byorn Troll-Born with Jude's head on a pike.

"I have the worst kind of deja vu right now." Jude complained, staring at his own severed head on a pike as he attempted not to vomit. "He's wearing less armour than before. Our friend is feeling cocky, it seems." Talberon commented, then vanished. Jude nodded and let out a sigh, unsheathing his sword. "Let's give it a go..."

"Uh, boss, you mind if I go for a leak real quick?" one of Byorn's men asked, suggestively pointing to the bushes behind him. Byorn turned around with a growl. "Fine. But make it quick, maggot. We'll be waiting at the camp." Byorn and the other five men continued towards the small camp further down the valley, while the sixth of his men ran for the bushes.

"What's taking him so long?" Byorn complained, poking a stick into the campfire. The men around him just shrugged, murmuring to one another. "You." Byorn suddenly exclaimed, pointing his stick at the most scrawny one among his ranks. "Go back there and tell him to hurry up!" Byorn growled furiously, then the scrawny soldier scurried off and stumbled his way back into the valley.
But it didn't take very long until Byorn complained again. "I'm sick of waiting. I'll go there and find out for myself. You lot stay here." he growled, walking back into the valley.

When Byorn returned to the bushes near the side of the valley, but there were none of his men to be seen. He began to inspect the bushes, then stomped on them and started to cut them down in anger. "Spare your anger, filthy troll!" a voice exclaimed from behind him, which of course, caused Byorn to turn around in an instant. Jude stood there, sword in hand. "I've given those men their freedom. They are no longer yours to command."

"I-Impossible!" Byorn exclaimed, tripping over his own feet and then scrambling back on his feet again only to repeat the process. "I killed you! I've got your head on a pike! This can't be!" he yelled, pointing at Jude with a trembling hand. "SORCERY! WITCHCRAFT!" he squeaked. "You have a keen sense of observation, troll. Even with one eye." Jude commented, approaching the half-troll with a determined smile. Then Byorn stayed around no longer and ran away deeper into the valley.

Almost instinctively, Jude reached out to Byorn - perhaps in a frantic attempt to stop him - but it seemed to be the right thing to do. From Jude's wrist, a white transparent chain emerged that shot forwards and wrapped itself around the neck of the half-troll, yanking him closer to Jude and stopping him in his tracks. "That's interesting." Jude commented, looking at the chain that was merged into his wrist. He sheathed his sword and with the other hand he shot forwards another similar chain, which wrapped itself around Byorn's legs. Within seconds Jude managed to reel him in.

"Before I deal the final blow... I want you to tell me where I can find Niz the Bone Collector." Jude whispered, his foot resting on the half-troll's chest as he held him down with the ghastly chains wrapped around his wrists. "In the Black Tower... in the south of the city! But you don't want to go after him... he'll wear your bones... like a trophy!" Byorn exclaimed with a strangled voice, coughing occasionally. "I'll decide that for myself. Good night and good riddance." Jude finally spoke, unsheathing his blade and letting it descend upon Byorn's throat.


* * * *

"It is done." Jude stepped into the Blackhand King's throne room once again, letting the head of Byorn drop down on the floor. Almost by magic it rolled straight into the large pit in the center, a green flame shooting upwards as the head fell into it. The Blackhand King simply sat in his throne, in a slouched fashion as he stared at Jude with a dull gaze. "Done?" he hissed, a distorted tone in his voice, "You are far from done, Grave Walker." the King stood up from his throne, raising his right hand in the air. Suddenly a raging wind began to blow within the walls of the castle. Jude struggled to remain standing on his feet. "When all the elites are slain, then you are done. Then you may return." he bellowed, ghastly whispers accompanying his voice as the wind grew stronger, eventually thrusting Jude out of the throne room.

[Craze]

Chapter IV
The Hand of Evil

Night had fallen on the City, followed by a storm of rain and thunder. "So this is the Black Tower." Jude mumbled as he looked up at the enormous obsidian tower towering high above the other rooftops. Like a beacon of evil, a large fire was lit at the very top of the tower. An iron wall emerged from the left and right sides of the tower, shielding away the City from whatever was behind the Black Tower. "This was not here before." Talberon spoke as he appeared besides his companion, not gazing at the tower but at the scaffolding and collection of abandoned tools beneath it. "Darkness begins to rise from its ashes, Jude. We must bring down this tower before it spreads." Talberon melted away again shortly afterwards.

On top of the humongous walls were patrols of soldiers, therefore Jude had decided that it would be a better idea to sneak in through lower grounds. Fortunately, two less intelligent soldiers had gone to take shelter from the rain - one of them had fallen asleep - allowing Jude to slip through the opened gates unnoticed. Within the iron walls was a stronghold, consistent of small buildings and mostly tents.

Everything seemed to go well. He hadn't been spotted yet and there were no soldiers in sight, though Jude did see some of their silhouettes within the tents. It was by an unexpected whisper that Jude's heart skipped a beat and he drew his sword in response. "Oy! Rich boy!" were the words of said whisper. Jude turned to his right and saw a row of wooden poles, with corpses tied up to them. Among them, however, was still a live one - and a familiar one.

Filch, the ratbag that had provided Jude with the information about the Elites, was tied up to one of the poles in the middle. It seemed highly uncomfortable, for he was so small that his feet were dangling in the air instead of resting on the ground. Jude quickly made his way to Filch. "What are you doing here?!" he whispered angrily, sheathing his sword. "...Let's just say that Niz and I aren't exactly the best of friends." Filch responded with a nervous chuckle, suggestively shaking his wrists. "Could you uh... cut me down?"

With a sigh, Jude cut the bonds that held Filch in the air. The maggot scrambled to his feet and began searching the pockets of the other corpses like the filthy miser he was. Jude rolled his eyes and snarled again with a whisper. "Can you please leave?! I have business to take care of and you'd only be in my way!"

"Sure, sure, let me just ah..." Filch dug in the pockets of his neighbor some more, revealing a few golden coins and rubbing his hands together with pleasure. However, upon turning around, his grin faded into a fearful expression. "Oh, no, no, no." he whispered, "That's not good." he pointed his scrawny index finger into the distance. Jude followed the finger and could see two figures approaching. They hadn't seen the two yet, but that would soon change.

One of the figures was a pale, poor excuse for a human. He was scrawny and had smears of blood all over his body. His teeth were rotten and yellow and his lips torn, his skin as dry as sand. His eyes were rather macabre. They glowed, like they were radioactive. What was more macabre was his armour - he wore a pike helmet with a skull pierced onto the pike, and a bandolier of skulls hung around his torso. In comparison to the other figure, he was rather small, but he was around the same height as Jude.

The other figure was an interesting contrast. He seemed a lot more human than his companion. His clothes were simple, and yet in some way impressive and iconic. He wore entirely black armour, apart from his head which was covered in a black hood attached to a cloak. His skin was pale - not as pale as the skin of his companion - his eyebrows thin and black, not a sign of facial hair to be seen on his face and his eyes were orange-coloured. Contrary to the scrawny companion, he walked with a straight back and an intimidating posture. The scrawny one was continuously looking at the man dressed in black, but the man paid no attention to him whatsoever.

"The Black Tower's progress saddens me, Nizgrad." the man in black spoke - his voice was a gruff whisper. "Your men are lazy and incompetent. Make more progress, or I will not hesitate to take away your position."
"Yes, milord. O-Of course, milord. I'll tell them, that's what I'll do." the scrawny man replied, his eyes twitching as he nervously licked his lips continuously.

"I take it the scrawny one is Niz?" Jude asked while he could, now that they hadn't seen them yet. Filch only nodded and cowered behind Jude. "...And might I ask who the man in black is?"
"A-Achilles." Filch squealed, clenching his fists as he trembled on his feet. "Achilles the Warlord!"

As if by magic, the man in black - Achilles, apparently - turned his face towards Jude and Filch and his eyes emitted a strange glow. He stopped walking and stared Jude directly in the eyes, putting a hand on his sheathed blade. "It seems we have company." he spoke to Niz.
"I'll takes care of them, sir... with pleasure!" Niz snarled, unsheathing his serrated daggers and leaping forwards with the jubilance of a madman, closer to Jude and Filch. Achilles remained where he was.

"Your skull will be a nice addition to my bandolier, boy!" Niz growled, the slime dripping from the corners of his blood-stained mouth. Then his attention was drawn towards Filch. "And yours too, you maggot! Backstabbing filth! Cowardly skunk!" and with those words, Filch stumbled over his own feet and began running away. Niz wanted to run after him, but was stopped by the sword that belonged to Jude.

It resulted in yet another tiresome battle, one that wasn't particularly challenging, but Niz was an easy foe to miss. At last, Jude had managed to get Niz down on his knees, disarmed. And when Jude was about to deal the final blow, he could not move. He felt an invisible, tightening grip around his throat and he found himself unable to move.

"That is enough, Grave-Walker." thundered the voice of Achilles, standing in a stationary position with only his right hand raised into the air, directed at Jude. A strange red and orange glow surrounded his hand. Achilles gave a nod towards Niz, who immediately grabbed his daggers and made a run for the Black Tower. Achilles approached Jude until they were nearly face-to-face, still keeping Jude frozen in place.

"I did not expect to see you so soon, Achilles." Jude spoke nearly without breath. To this, Achilles let out an amused laugh, but it sounded neither jolly nor happy. Sinister and evil, rather. "Achilles? Is that what they call me now?" he whispered, a clear tone of disapproval in his voice. He released Jude, who dropped his sword in an instant and fell to his knees, gasping for breath. "It seems the common folk is still far too stupid to comprehend my real name. Then again, rumors tend to do their work..." he mumbled to himself, walking a circle around Jude and then coming to a stop in front of him.

Jude coughed, spat out some blood, then raised his head upwards. "That's not your name?"
"Of course not." the dark one responded, his eyes emitting yet another malicious glow. "You'll come to know me as Acharn, the Hand of Evil... and the malice of the dark lord Mordecai." Acharn knelt down to level himself with Jude, giving him an intriguing stare that pierced into his eyes - though to Jude, it felt more like he was piercing into his soul. "And I apologize for my unexpected... arrival, but I just had to know more about this 'Grave-Walker'..." Acharn grinned malevolently, slowly raising his right hand which began to glow red like a hot branding iron.

Unexpectedly, his arm shot forwards and his hand grasped onto Jude's face, making a piercing sizzling noise upon physical contact. Jude screamed in agony and Acharn's eyes glowed yellow. He ignored the pain that Jude was going through and spoke words in a foreign language. "Sýna anda innra með þér!" he snarled, a ghostly whisper accompanying his own voice. Jude screamed with even more agony as his own physical appearance melted away to be replaced with the wraith-like appearance of Talberon. Acharn grinned with pleasure. "Hello, Talberon. I had a presumption that it would be you." he spoke, his voice distorted and inhuman. Then he released Jude - or Talberon - and Jude turned back to normal. He fell on his back, then quickly got up on hands and knees and vomited.

"Tut, tut." Acharn spoke as he got up on his feet and chuckled. His voice had returned to normal again. "You have much to learn about endurance, weakling. There's worse ways of torture than this." he turned his back to Jude and rolled his right wrist, stretching his fingers as smoke sizzled from his fingertips. He walked ahead a few steps, then turned around once more. "I cannot explain how tempted I am to murder you right now... but I will not give you that satisfaction. I eagerly await our next encounter, Grave-Walker..."

The last thing Jude could see was Acharn walking away from him, then his vision faded.

[Craze]

He woke up again in foul stench. The ground was moist and he felt ropes tightly burning his wrists. "Wakey wakey, pinksin!" were the first words he heard as soon as he slowly opened his eyes. Jude saw Niz standing front of him, his fingers sliding across his dagger as his tongue hung out of his mouth like a mad dog. He hopped around and made high-pitched exclamations of excitement. "You have such nice, soft skin, lovely. I can't wait to run my hands across your sweet, bare bones... ooh, I'm salivating!" he hissed as he giggled and danced around on a pile of corpses.

"Go ahead." Jude growled, spitting on the ground. There was dirt on his skin and hair, his coat was tattered and he felt sick. "Kill me. Do it now." he slowly raised his head and gave Niz a dark stare.
"Oh, no, lovely. No, no, no." Niz exclaimed, shaking his head furiously and pattering closer towards Jude. "We were given specific orders not to kills you, no no. Killing bad for pinkskin, says master. Gives him satisfaction, says master." he did a poor impression of Acharn's voice, though it didn't sound like it was meant to mock him.

"Then why keep me here? What's the point?" Jude asked, to which Niz seemed to have no answer. In fact he grew quite nervous, beginning to pull out strains of hair and jumping around furiously. "Pinkskin must not ask such nasty questions!" he eventually exclaimed, stabbing one of the many corpses until he calmed down. "You stay here, and I'll asks the master what he wants with you." he spoke, scurrying away.

Jude let out a sigh. Things were not going according to plan. Not nearly according to plan. "Anything you can do to get these off?" he asked out loud, shaking his wrists. Talberon appeared in front of him and picked up a dagger from one of the corpses. With a swift move he cut the bonds, allowing Jude his freedom. "We must bring down the Black Tower. I feel its malice growing. There is something about it, something not of this world." the spirit spoke before vanishing again.

Grabbing his weapons, Jude hurried outside to see that the Black Tower had indeed changed. The fire in the top had become twice as large and the tower was now horned, with several soldiers stationed on balconies. And that was not all - more soldiers were still tinkering away at the Tower's walls on top of the scaffolding. "Well," Jude sighed, unsheathing his sword, "the bigger they are, the harder they fall..."

He had scaled the wall surrounding the stronghold within minutes, though it had been quite the climb. Luckily there were not many soldiers in sight - most of them were occupied with working on the Black Tower. Using the newly acquired spiritual power - Keoja - he yanked down a soldier from a balcony and used Keoja again to hoist himself up onto the balcony. Here, he discovered that the Black Tower had an inside area as well. It was not much - just a very large stairwell - so he managed to climb to the top of the Tower relatively easy.

"Douse the flame - break down the pillars that hold it up high. Cut off the head of the snake and the body will wither." whispered Talberon inside Jude's mind. How Talberon managed to acquire this wisdom was a riddle to Jude, but he decided it was best not to ask. With Keoja he wrapped the spiritual chains around the four pillars holding up the enormous fire. The heat was intense and hurt his eyes, but it would soon be over. Just when he was about to yank the pillars down, an arrow pierced into his shoulder with great force, which made Jude flinch and the chains disappeared.

"Get off my Tower, pinkskin." snarled Niz behind him, holding an enormous crossbow decorated with bones and skulls. Another arrow was already loaded into the bow. There was something odd about his voice - and his appearance as well. His eyes were dull, lifeless almost. And his voice was just as dull - it was monotone and listless. "He is possessed." explained Talberon, "the Hand of Evil speaks through him."

"Stand down and no harm will befall you, Niz." spoke Jude, pointing his sword at the 'Bone Collector'. To this, Niz replied with an angry growl and another arrow into the same shoulder. "Get off my Tower." he repeated, this time his own voice was less monotone and the voice of Acharn could be heard faintly. Thunder rumbled in the sky and a lightning strike lit up the stronghold, very briefly showing the silhouette of Acharn towering above Niz.

"You leave me no choice." were the final words Jude spoke before he charged forwards, deflecting Niz's attack with his crossbow. The scrawny maggot was rather easy to defeat, and yet Jude felt somehow guilty. He kicked Niz and the feet and through the slipperiness of the rain, he slipped off the Tower and managed to hang onto the ledge. There was despair in the eyes of Niz. Jude sheathed his sword and directed his attention to the fire again, repeating the process of wrapping the chains around the pillars. With a powerful yank, the pillars began to crumble and the fire hissed and grew in size. Not only did the top of the tower crumble and break down, the entire Black Tower started to collapse.

The aftermath was quite unsettling - after all the chaos and death that erupted from the collapse of the Black Tower, there was nothing but utter silence. Niz lay beneath the obsidian remains of the Tower as one of the many corpses. The iron bowl that held the fire lay beside the ruinous remains of the Tower. Jude approached it, waving away the smoke to see what was inside the bowl. It was another rune, like the one the Blackhand King had shown him.

Jude slowly reached out to grab the stone, then suddenly the smoke inside the bowl took the form of some kind of skull and rushed straight through Jude's torso with a ghastly screech. Jude fell on his back and felt an agonizing pain within his mind - but it faded as soon as it had come. Getting back on his feet, Jude could finally approach the rune and touch it. A flame erupted from the rune and Jude let out a scream.


kraftur í vindinn og sjávarfalla

hrikalegt blása af krafti

Rek á óvini þínum úr fjarska

búa fjarlægð og brjóta bardaga

"Vindur." Jude spoke instinctively, harnessing the power of the rune. "This rune is named Vindur."
"A power that will prove useful." Talberon assured him, appearing beside Jude. "Nizgrad the Bone Collector has fallen. Only the Colonel and the Man-Eater remain." he approached Niz's corpse and knelt down beside it, his hand hovering above. "And the Hand of Evil." Jude added, to which Talberon nodded. "His presence has faded. Nizgrad was merely a pawn on Acharn's chessboard." Talberon stood back up and faded away without another word.

"Now, I think it's time we pay a more human enemy a visit." Jude whispered to himself, giving a meaningful gaze to the East - where the enormous palace of Colonel Griggs was located. It towered above the rooftops, a beacon of a strange combination - light and corruption. "I'd also like to know why Griggs is so afraid of the dark..."

[Craze]

Jack Stagger had never been one to pay attention to the spiritual world or any form of beliefs for that matter. For him, it had always been just the 'real world', no such thing as fate or strange men in the skies looking down at the world. But all of his own belief - or disbelief, if you will - seemed to become void once a familiar face returned to him.

"I don't know what kind o' sorcery this is, Dawson," Stagger mumbled as he stared at Jude with eyes widened. He was uncertain what to believe at this point. "But it's quite a fancy magic trick, is what it is. Comin' back from the dead like that. You want me to call you 'Grave-Walker' or does Jude Dawson suffice for now?" he let out a short chuckle, then shook his head and poured more whiskey down his throat.

"All I ask of you is to aid me in a battle." Jude replied, to which Stagger raised an eyebrow and already opened his mouth to speak. Jude raised a hand, "A battle that will benefit both of us... and the people." he added, eagerly awaiting Stagger's response with hope. Stagger put down his glass and leaned forwards, "I'm listening."

"I am on a path towards revenge and Colonel Griggs is in my way. Getting into his fortress is no problem - although he might have doubled his guards since our last encounter - but from there on, I am without a plan. A better idea would be to get rid of Crane's corruption within the City, so we might as well take down the fortress entirely. And for that... I need an army."

"An army?!" Stagger laughed, and it took him quite a while to stop laughing, "You think I command an army, Dawson? We have about, what, fifty men here? We can't just storm that fortress head-on, guns blazing. That man commands legions!" Stagger had gone to stand up, pointing towards the City with gritted teeth. Jude bit his lip and nodded. "I see." he said. Then he shrugged and stood up, heading for the door.

"Well, I didn't say I wouldn't do it." Stagger spoke just before Jude would leave, triumphantly throwing his legs onto his desk and putting the whiskey against his mouth. Jude turned around and Stagger grinned, adding a wink. "Just tell me when and how... and we'll be there."

Thus, Jude climbed back onto his trustworthy steed, the one named Talon, and rode back into the City. Nightfall came soon and it was time for the storming of the Colonel's fortress.

"Now, listen up, boys!" Stagger bellowed as he paraded in front of his assembled group of revolutionaries with his hands on his belt. Not far from them was the fortress of Colonel Griggs, yet Stagger didn't seem to give a damn if they heard him or not. "We're at a total of 46 men today because Jenkins and Richardson got the flu!" some murmuring and chuckles erupted from the crowd - which Stagger allowed because he was in a good mood - but silence soon fell as Stagger unsheathed his blade. "We've been sittin' on our arse long enough, lads. We've tolerated this political nonsense for far too long. I have but one request for you, lads, and that is to FIGHT!"

All the men unsheathed their blades and heaved them in the air, cheering Stagger on. Stagger gave the signal and all the men charged forwards, storming the gates of the fortress. "Kill whoever you must, Dawson..." Stagger spoke before charging in as well, "But this blade shall rest in the Colonel's throat." the two gave each other a firm handshake, then Stagger followed after his men.

It wasn't the toughest of battles, but it surely was intense. Even though none of Stagger's men were killed yet, more of the Colonel's men kept coming and defending themselves from the horde. However - slowly but certainly - the revolutionaries managed to barge through and get closer and closer to the heart of the fortress. "Outta my way, scum!" Stagger growled as he kicked one of the soldiers in the groin, which was his final obstacle before the doors to the 'house' of the Colonel. "Help me with this, Jack!" Jude exclaimed, who had just reached the doors as well. Together, the two lifted the barrier blocking it and kicked the doors open. More soldiers were in the entry hall, but with a few pompous shots of Stagger's pistols they were no more.

The two soon reached the secret room where Jude assumed Griggs would be, but that did not seem to be the case. "He's not here." Jude confirmed, lowering his weapons. Stagger kicked the door in anger. "Blast. He must've gotten away, the coward." but Jude shook his head and started looking around the room. "No, no, he's here... he must be. There's nowhere else for him to go."

"Quite right, Dawson!" sounded a familiar voice behind the two. There stood Griggs, an enormous pistol in one hand and a hostage in the other. "What? Surprised that I joined in with the fight outside? You walked right past me, too. Probably didn't recognize me in my new armour." and indeed, the Colonel was no longer wearing his aristocratic clothing - instead he was wearing black armour that was spiked on his back and on his forearms and legs. For a brief second, Jude could've sworn there was a red shimmer in the Colonel's eyes. "You know, I must admit that I am quite content with the return of Captain Acharn. After all... this armour has been forged by him personally."

Stagger wanted to lunge forward and strike directly at Griggs, but Jude managed to stop him in time from making a mistake. Stagger recognized said mistake, but didn't turn any less angry. "Why don't you release him so we can fight a fair fight, Griggs." he growled, gritting his teeth. Griggs laughed. "A fair fight?! My eyes must deceive me, for I see two of you and only one of me."

"In that case, Colonel..." Stagger spoke menacingly, "...allow me to EVEN the odds for you!" with a swift and unexpected move, Stagger kicked Jude in the knee, heaved his sword upwards and cleaved Jude's head straight off his shoulders.

[Craze]

"What the hell?!" Jude coughed, sitting up straight with a gasp as if waking up from a nightmare. Once again he was on top of one of these ruinous towers, the winds of the ghost world circling around him. He heaved himself on his feet and carefully put his hand to his throat - being decapitated was a nauseous experience. "What did Stagger do that for?!" he grunted with anger.

In response, Talberon appeared and walked towards the edge of the tower. "See for yourself." he spoke, looking over his shoulder towards Jude and then pointing towards the City.

There, engulfed in flame and smoke, was the Colonel's fortress. From a distance, Jude could see Stagger's men fighting on the gates to the fortress - some were defending themselves with all their might, others were being slaughtered where they stood. Jude let out another growl of anger. "Stagger's a lunatic." he mumbled, then he descended from the tower and ran towards the fortress as fast as he could.

Lifting up a fallen, smoldering beam, Jude got closer to the Colonel's quarters - where he had last seen both Stagger and Griggs himself. On his way there, he saw the hostage laying on the ground - dead. 'Poor bastard' was all Jude could think at this moment. He bashed open the door to the quarters, which was luckily untouched by the flame. For now.

He found Stagger and the Colonel - both unconscious. Stagger lay on the Colonel's desk with a knife in his leg, while the Colonel just seemed to have passed out. There were, however, marks of a beating on the Colonel's face. "Wake up, you piece of shit." Jude snarled as he took Stagger's arm and placed it on his shoulders, hoisting Stagger on his feet. "Daw... Dawson." Stagger coughed, slowly opening his eyes. "Get us the hell out of here." he mumbled, still coughing and clearly out of breath.

Jude began to carry Stagger out of the room, but as the two reached the doorstep, Jude was kicked in the back of his knee and he fell to the ground, dropping Jack. Both yelled, and before Jude could get up he saw Stagger being pulled back into the room.

"You're not leaving, Stagger!" the Colonel snarled, burdening Stagger with his pompous body and heavy armour as he took a half-broken chair and began to smack it onto Stagger's face repeatedly. Stagger flinched and screamed every time the chair landed. As quickly as he could, Jude got up and threw the Colonel off of Jack, snatching away the chair and throwing it out of the window so the smoke could escape.

Jude and Griggs engaged in a struggle, leaving Jack on the ground screaming and grunting. They knocked over nearly everything in the room and eventually ended up by the window that had been smashed by the chair. Just before he'd fall out, the Colonel managed to grasp the frame. With a kick he pushed Jude away from him, who fell over the knocked over desk.

"Killing you may not change anything..." Griggs growled, the bloodlust in his eyes as he licked his lips. "...but at least I'll make you suffer!" he roared, taking an axe from one of the many that was hung on the walls. He held up the axe, ready to let it crash down onto one of Jude's body parts.

The axe swooped down, and a scream erupted - but not from Jude. In the heat of the moment Stagger had pushed Jude out of the way and the axe landed in Stagger's leg - the one with the dagger already in it. Jude took advantage of the moment and pushed the Colonel back to the window. This time, he wasn't given a second chance. Jude hesitated not a moment and pushed him out, but of course Griggs managed to grasp onto the ledge just in time.

With his last power, Griggs hoisted himself up and grabbed Jude's ankle, pulling him down also. Jude fell, as he could not grab onto the ledge, though he did manage to yank an arrow into a flag on the way down. He still fell, but the arrow slowed him down and he managed to swing back towards the fortress, finding a narrow ledge to stand on.

Griggs chuckled with malice as he began to climb back into his room, when he suddenly felt two hands grabbing his own. He looked up with a dumb expression and saw Jack Stagger, his face bloodstained and his eye seriously injured by the chair. He spat blood and saliva into Griggs' face, gritting his teeth with anger. "Die, bastard." Stagger growled, letting go of both of Griggs' hands.

And Griggs fell, certainly more unfortunate than Jude. His heavy armour made him fall even faster and his body vanished within the flames, sparks shooting upwards as the fire crackled.

"What a bloody fuckin' mess." Stagger complained with a sigh. Morning had come and the flames were doused, leaving behind only enormous heaps of ash and some wooden beams still smoldering. Rain trickled down on the battlefield very slowly and only occasionally. The remains of the fortress sizzled and clouds of smoke danced slowly in the wind.

"Sorry for your loss, Jack." Jude whispered, looking down at one of the many corpses. They had lost at least twenty, if not thirty of Stagger's men. "Bah, it's fine. They died with honor and for a noble cause. None of us had any wives, anyway." the man let out a wheezing laugh, followed by spitting blood-stained spit into the ground. His leg had been amputated and there was a piece of cloth wrapped around his head. A somewhat deformed stick served as a crutch.

"A shame we can't find the Colonel's body. Must've dissolved completely in the fire." Stagger nodded, looking around the battlefield once more. He sniffed and let out a sigh. "Yeah, I would've loved to kick in the bastard's face once more." he mumbled, going to sit down on a blackened beam. Jude sat down next to him and they both overlooked the field, the sunrise crawling up behind the remains of the fortress.

"What happens now?" Jude asked.
"Nothin'." Stagger growled, kicking away some dirt with his remaining leg. "My boys and I will rebuild this fortress and claim it as our own... gives us a bit of an advantage, but nothin' much will change. So long as Crane still sits on that throne, there ain't gonna be any changes for a while. No changes that benefit the people, that is."
"I see." Jude sighed, letting his head hang. Then suddenly he grunted, stood up and kicked the dirt. "Damnit."
"Wot?" Stagger exclaimed, staring at Jude with confusion.

"I didn't find out why Griggs' soldiers had those stupid lanterns on their helmets." Jude muttered, crossing his arms and kicking the head of one of the Colonel's dead soldiers. A short silence fell, until Stagger let out a snort. That snort turned into a chuckle, and eventually into a laugh. "Stupid lanterns." Stagger wheezed, half coughing and half laughing. Jude couldn't help it - the corners of his mouth tweaked upwards, too. It didn't take very long until both of them were laughing out loud.

"You should go." Stagger spoke with determination after the silence that fell after the laughing. He looked at Jude and nodded. "You should go." he repeated, though in a different tone. Jude nodded as well. "I've one more target to hunt down..." he mumbled, standing up with a sigh and brushing dust off his knees. "The Man-Eater feasts regularly. I think you'll find him at the Bastion." Stagger spoke. Jude shook his hand. "Thank you. I hope our paths cross again, friend."

Stagger looked him straight in the eye, and for a first time there was a slight twinkle. "They will, Dawson. They will."