Coilsteemer
By: Murasaki
Chapter 6
<body>The dragon/mortal claming to be Darkon slipped through the shadows of the
night and left Camelot Reborn. He made his way into the woods and swiftly throughout
the deep, dark forest. The figure came upon Deadland, the Darkon hunting ground that
was filled with splintered trees. Thoughts fluttered through the druid’s mind. Who was
that old man who had interfered back at the battle dome? Where did he come from? The
figure kept moving, not thinking of anything except getting home. Shrieks and cries of
pain and terror called out to him. The druid ignored the ghouls and kept moving through
the night.
Once the figure was back at the Darkon castle he swiftly made his
way to the dining hall. There he hid in the shadows, watching as the Darkons ate their
dinner and threw stripped bones at one another and on the floor. Growls were shot this
way and that and angry shouts were tossed around. The druid wanted to eat, but knew
that to enter that room now, while the Darkons were eating, could prove deadly. So the
figure turned and
headed away and down the hall, keeping well hidden in the shadows. He occasionally
stopped to let one or two Darkons pass by him. They didn’t seem to notice he was even
there, either that or they were too drunk and full of food to care. The druid came upon a
door that was hidden well. He took a hold of the handle and turned it gently until he
heard a click. He then stopped only to make sure the coast was clear. He watched as a
Darkon walked into the dining hall. The dark figure then opened the door and swiftly
slipped in, closing the door behind him.
The druid swiftly made his way down a
set of wooden stairs. A single torch was mounted on the wall and gave off only enough
light to see before his face. The figure could see in the dark and had no trouble making
out the stairs. Once he was at the bottom he turned right and walked a few steps forward,
then stopped, hearing flint hit steel. A few sparks flicked before him and a small torch
flamed up. There, sitting in a chair next to a table with a plate of food on it was the
Darkon leader.
The druid’s throat went dry and he took a step back. “Red
Leader,†he began. “Shut it,†the Darkon barked. “Your dinner is cold. You were
nowhere to be found when it was warm. Where have you been, boy?†The vampire
growled deeply. The figure stuttered. “I... I was in Camelot Reborn-â€
“I told you
not to leave the castle!†The Darkon leader shouted furiously as he stood, the torch in his
hand. “I told you not to leave this room when dinner time came around and to stay in the
castle at all times. I strictly forbade you to go to Camelot and deliberately defied me!â€
Red Leader walked in the druid’s direction.
The figure took a step back,
cowering under his hood, afraid that the leader would lash out at him. The vampire
stopped before the cowering druid, stood still for a moment, then reached up and
mounted the torch on the wall. “You know the punishment for defying me,†Red Leader
reached up and threw the figure’s hood back. “Public exposure...â€
“No!†The
druid cried out. “Please, don’t!†Red Leader would hear none of it. He grabbed the figure
by the arm and began to walk away, dragging the druid along behind him. “I was only
trying to help,†he protested. His blue hair hung on his shoulders and a small blue curl
hung down before his face. “I heard you talking to the others in the dining hall,"
“Eavesdropping as well?†Red Leader bellowed. “The punishment is public exposure and
beating!†The druid pulled his arm back stiffly. “No!†He shouted. The vampire spun, his
dark features glowering down on the figure. “You listen to me Jesture,†the figure began.
“I was only trying to help. I heard you speaking of the Coilsteemer gem and of getting it
back from Chris Ford. I wanted to help so I went to Camelot Reborn myself to gather as
much information as I could and possibly return with the pendent."
Red Leader
looked on him, anger in his eyes. This was the only one that referred to him as Jesture
anymore. The others had stopped calling him that little over twenty
years ago and given him the knick name Red Leader. He crossed his arms, still angry but
wanting to hear what the druid had found. “And what did you find?†The figure was glad
that Red Leader was willing to hear what he had to say and so the druid continued. “Chris
Ford has used the gemstone. There are many dragon/mortals in Camelot Reborn. There is
One in particular that is very special to Chris.†Still listening, Jesture glared. “His name
is Marty and he is Ford’s son.â€
“The boy refers to him as father,†Jesture
reasoned. “No, the boy is his son. Chris Ford is the boy’s sergeant father. His mother is
one by the name of Denae.†Red Leader
remembered that name. The name of a lady from Camelot. The lady that had interfered
with his hunt for Chris Ford some twenty years previous. “Did you get the pendent?†Red
Leader asked calmly. An answer didn’t immediately present itself so he asked again, this
time with more force. “Did you get the pendent?†The druid glanced down at his feet.
"No.†A growl made it’s way past Jesture’s sneering lips and he struck the figure before
him. The druid, caught off guard, flew threw the air and landed hard on the chair. The
wooden frame shattered and splintered under him and he winced in pain. The druid did
his best not to cry out, knowing he would be punished for showing pain, but a whimper
found it’s way out. Jesture stalked towards the hurt figure and grabbed him by the throat.
“Is that a whimper I hear from you X?†X, meaning nameless in the Darkon tongue, was
the druid’s name. He tried to choke out a reply but couldn’t get a breath past Red
Leader’s tight grip.</body>