Brokeback Tolkien

Smook rolled quickly to the right as Agragag plunged a dagger down towards his heart. He winced as his other wounds slammed roughly into objects on the cluttered floor and screamed in agony as the dagger that was meant for his heart tore through his left side. Bleeding profusely, Smook tried to heal himself, but could not concentrate hard enough. His head throbbed with the sounds of the screams of the pour tortured souls that were chained in a chamber below. Agragag threw back his head and laughed heartily. “You’ll never escape me, Smook.” He kicked Smook hard enough to send him sliding across the room. Smook hit his head hard against the leg of the sturdy table that took up the center of the room. Wiping the blood from his eyes, he spied his bag, dropped when Agragag had suddenly attacked him. He groped wildly in it and pulled out a vial with a swirling rainbow colored liquid inside. Agragag stopped, unsure of what this potion was. Smook took advantage of his hesitation and quaffed the potion. In a flash, the screams of the tortured souls faded, and Smook stumbled as he magically reappeared in his hall in Emyn Muil. He looked down at his battered body. Vicious burn marks marred his arms and legs. The gash in his side was bleeding profusely as was his head from the table injury. He moved gingerly and had to grab the back of a table to remain upright as pain streaked through his body. He mentally added a few broken ribs to his list of injuries. His head swimming, he barely had time to call for his disciples as he collapsed to the floor unconscious.

Agragag swore in several languages as Smook disappeared. His head was fuzzy, and he was not entirely sure what had just happened. He growled at the thought of his once friend becoming an enemy. He methodically cleaned his dagger as he replayed the events that had just transpired in his head. He had not seen Smook for about 15 years now. They had trained together as mages then become lasting friends. He had saved Smook’s life once. He snorted – and this was how he got repaid. Agragag frowned. He would have thought Smook would jump at the chance to embrace this power. He waved a hand and muttered a quick incantation. The room was suddenly deadly quiet as the screams of those he was torturing ceased. He had all the information from them he needed, and the noise was preventing him from thinking. His friend should have jumped at the chance to rule with him. He couldn’t have changed that much in 15 years. Agragag had called Smook there to invite him to join in and embrace the power. Instead Smook had rebelled and tried to grab the dagger from him. He wasn’t sure if Smook meant to destroy it or take it for himself, but he was not about to let go of the dagger. Already, he felt a part of himself connecting with it. It had become his obsession. He hated to do it, but his friend must now be destroyed. He had come so close to killing him, but Smook had escaped. Agragag frowned grimly. It would not happen again.

Smook’s disciples looked on in bewilderment as Smook thrashed in his unconsciousness. They had raced into the foyer to find Smook lying bleeding on the floor. He started to speak in a hoarse voice, reliving the fight. His body tightened, tendons stretching so tight they thought he would break. The disciples stood immobile, paralyzed by the sight of their master in such a condition. One voice spoke, speaking the words that were in everyone’s thoughts but none dared speak. “Why didn’t he heal himself? He knows Agragag better than anyone. They’ve fought side by side. And why did Agragag suddenly attack him?” Silence was his only answer. William looked around at everyone else. Blank stares greeted his gaze. He swore softly under his breath. “Well, what are we standing here for? Let’s heal him.” His words seemed to break the shock of the other disciples. They gathered around Smook and began chanting. William focused the power and sent it rushing through Smook’s wounds. A glowing light surrounded Smook, and his body relaxed as the infusion swept through him. The burn marks flared with light then faded, and the wound on his head closed up. William felt Smook’s body and healed the broken ribs and minor cuts as well. But the jagged wound from the dagger remained open and bleeding. William frowned, and then refocused the energy onto the wound. No matter what they did to it, it would not heal. The bleeding had slowed, but it was still a serious wound. William stepped back. “I don’t believe we have the knowledge to fix this. We’ll have to wake him up. We healed everything else, so he should not be in too much pain.” At the nods of the other disciples, he waved his hands over Smook and uttered an incantation to arouse Smook. He jumped back in astonishment as Smook suddenly sat up, power flowing to him as he readied himself for battle.

Smook had been floating peacefully when he was suddenly jerked back to consciousness. The events came back to him in a rush, and he tried to jump up to fight. He was startled to see the faces of his disciples standing around him looking horrified. He relaxed back and spoke, “Thank the gods I escaped. Something has gone horribly wrong with Agragag.” One of his disciples, Damien, replied “We know. You spoke as you were unconscious.” Smook moved then winced as he felt his side. He looked quickly over his body then gave a questioning look at his most promising healer, William. “You healed my burns and not the dagger wound?” “I tried, master, but I fear something about the dagger is preventing it. Perhaps you could tell us about it, and we can find a way to heal you.” Smook frowned then used his power to try and heal himself. He looked astonished as he found that he could not. “This is very serious indeed.” He gave a wry smile. “Luckily I have not always relied upon my magic to heal. Bring me hot water, some brandy and a needle and thread.” William ran off to find the supplies while the other disciples begged to hear what had happened. Smook smiled indulgently at his overeager students. “It will need to wait until I am healed. This is a very delicate situation, and I need my full concentration. I will reveal all to you shortly.”

As he spoke, Smook became whiter and whiter, and was leaning more heavily to his good side. Damien helped him to lay back as William came running back, followed by servants with the supplies. “William, I fear I am too weak to do what must be done. I will tell you what to do – I may pass out during this procedure.” William looked afraid, but nodded. Smook described how to use the hot water and brandy to clean the wound. He then told him to stitch it up using the needle and thread. William blanched at the thought but caught himself. He moved to begin, but Smook stopped him. He took the brandy and drank a long swig from the flask. He handed the flask back to a servant who was hovering nearby. He nodded to William to continue. William took the hot water and began to wash out the wound. Smook turned even whiter as the wound was probed, and William stopped and looked at him. “Are you sure this is what to do?” In too much pain, Smook just nodded, his mouth set in a tight line. He screamed as William poured some of the brandy on his wound, then blissfully passed out from the pain. William quickly finished the rest then ordered Smook to be moved to his bed while he was still unconscious. They made him comfortable and forced a sleeping potion past his lips. William turned towards the others. “We must let him rest for awhile. I will check on him through out the night to watch for fever.” He gestured to a servant. “Keep someone in here at all times. Fetch me immediately if there is a change in his condition.” Damien looked around at the younger students. They were all frightened and exhausted. Being the oldest disciple, he often took control of the group when Smook was not around, although he bowed to William’s judgment in healing matters. “I think it’s best everyone gets rest now.” The twenty disciples filed out and headed to their rooms, but Damien laid a hand on William to hold him back for a moment. “You especially need your rest, but we must speak for a moment.” William nodded. “You and I are the eldest and most experienced. The rest of them are still children, so we’re going to need to take control. I’m afraid that Agragag might come after him here, and us as well. Who knows what caused him to go off. Maybe tomorrow we’ll get the entire story.” William looked thoughtful, “What is their connection, anyways?” Damien shrugged. “He’s never told me anything other than they were friends. We’ll ask tomorrow. In the meantime, I’m setting extra guards tonight and locking down for the night. No one will be let in or out.” William nodded. “Good idea, why don’t we try and get some sleep?” Damien nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Damien walked out of the room and down the hall to the dormitory where the male students slept.

William walked over to the window and looked at the moon. Shadows fell across the room and a single beam of light came in through the window and illuminated the bed where Smook slept. He glanced over at where Smook slept fitfully. He sighed. He could already see signs of fever coming over Smook. He was shivering, and his cheeks were becoming flushed. He looked at the servant and spoke. “Keep him warm throughout the night and send someone to wake me should he worsen.” William walked over and laid a hand gently on Smook’s cheek. Smook had been like a father to him. “Be well,” he whispered. He turned and headed in the direction of the dormitory intending to sleep. A soft hand reached out and stilled his progress, and one of the older girls, Theresa, stepped out of the shadows. He jumped as the hand touched him and blushed when he saw her. Theresa smiled shyly, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. How is he?” William coughed a little to hide his nervousness. “I’m not sure,” he said, his voice shaking slightly. “Tonight will be difficult but if he gets through it he will be alright.” Theresa nodded. “I hope he’ll be alright. Did he say anything else about what happened?” William shook his head. “He’ll be out until tomorrow at the earliest. For now, we have a long few days ahead of us.” He took her chin in his hands. “You should try to get some sleep.” Theresa shrugged. “I can’t sleep just yet. I can’t help but worry.” William nodded. “I was about to go for a walk in the gardens, would you like to join me?” Theresa looked hopefully up at William. “I don’t think that it is safe, Theresa. Damien is locking down the hall for the night. But I have another idea. There’s a place in the library that has a view of the gardens, and it is very quiet.” Theresa had looked disappointed, but perked up again as he mentioned another place. She smiled to herself as she realized he had just suggested a very private place. “I don’t know where you’re talking about so lead on.” She linked her arm through his and he led them down the hall. As the passed the dormitories, he quickly looked in to make sure everyone was sleeping and alright.

William led her down the hall and downstairs to the basement. She looked confused as they went down and gave him a questioning look, but he just chuckled and said, “Trust me.” He led her through seldom used rooms of the dungeon, and she pressed close against him as they walked though. William could see well enough, but seeing that Theresa was frightened, he waved his hand and created a small ball of light. “It’s so spooky down here,” Theresa whispered. Finally, they were out of the dungeon area and into storage areas. William smiled and said, “I used to wander around here when I was young. I’ve never been good at going to bed early.” He stopped in front of a door. “This has a stairwell which leads down from the library, but it has been sealed off for years. I used to try and find what it went to, and finally I did.” He opened the door and they stepped over the threshold. The air smelled faintly stale, but the room was clean and free of the dust that covered the previous rooms. Books that showed their great age crumbled on massive shelves that went from floor to ceiling. Scrolls were lined up neatly on other shelves and various artifacts and objects rested nearby. Theresa could only gaze around the room in astonishment. “It’s amazing, isn’t it? The room has been perfectly preserved by some spell.” Theresa found her voice again, “You said there was a view of the garden?” William smiled mischievously and beckoned for her to follow. He brought her to stand before a window which had a white sheet thrown over it. He pulled the sheet off and the window appeared to look out into the garden which was several floors above them. Theresa gasped with delight. She smiled up at William and took his hand. “Thank you for showing this to me.” She stood on tiptoe and pressed a quick kiss against his lips. William blushed as she settled back flat on her feet and smiled up at him. She laid her head against his shoulder and they stood there for what seemed like hours, staring out at the garden in the moonlight. Finally, Theresa couldn’t stifle a yawn, and William was drawn out of the trance. Theresa regretfully spoke, “I think I should get to bed, we have a long day tomorrow. You especially need your rest.” William nodded. Holding her hand, he led her back to the main area, closing doors and restoring order behind them. Outside of the female dormitory, he paused and looked deep into her eyes. He lowered his head slowly and kissed her. He pulled back and gazed into her eyes. “Goodnight,” she whispered, not knowing what else to say. He smiled softly and kissed her again. He looked at her again, and she whispered even softer, “Goodnight.” He started to turn away but then leaned in and kissed her again. This time he whispered, “Goodnight,” then walked away as she stared after him then went to bed.

Damien woke up with the dawn and looked around the dormitory. Everyone was still in bed except William. He slipped out silently and strode down the hall to Smook’s room. William had fallen asleep in the chair next to the bed with his head resting on the bed next to Smook’s shoulder. Damien cleared his throat as he entered the room. William sat up slowly and looked around groggily. “Did you sleep at all?” inquired Damian. William shook his head. “I couldn’t.” He paused. “But I did spend some time with Theresa.” Damien raised his eyebrow. “Did you…” William blushed. “We kissed.” Damien clapped him on the back as a weak voice came out and said, “It about time!” Damien and William both jumped up and exclaimed, “Smook!” Smook chuckled weakly. “You didn’t think I was leaving you so soon did you,” he wheezed. William quickly checked on his wounds. Smook brushed his hands away. “I’ll be alright. Strangely enough there was no poison on his blade. Just a spell which prevented me from healing it magically.” Damien looked thoughtful. “So if it had been more severe you would have died. Guaranteeing that the enemy is at least incapacitated for awhile after the fight.” Smook nodded. “Exactly. But for now, I need you two to go and eat your breakfast while I rest then get everyone together. I think it’s time you guys learned the truth about Agragag.” William and Damien nodded then left the room to do as Smook requested.

After everyone had been woken up, they all went to the dining room to eat the giant buffet style breakfast that had been laid out. Theresa slide into the seat next to William then looked up at him and smiled. Damien caught William’s eye and winked. Theresa caught the look and blushed. William patted her leg under the table then they turned to talk to their fellow disciples. Everyone was buzzing about the bizarre happenings; expect one of the teenage boys, Michael. He kept shooting dirty glances at William and then staring with an intense look at Theresa. Michael mostly kept to himself so no one noticed the glares that were being shot across the room.

When everyone was done, the twenty two disciples walked upstairs to Smook’s room. William and Damien exchanged a look, then gave a perfunctory knock on the door. A voice which sounded like the old Smook yelled “Enter!” Damien raised an eyebrow at William who shook his head warningly at him. They led the way in, and the students crowded around Smook. Yemi, one of the youngest students, ran over and threw her arms around Smook. Smook patted her arms gently, wincing as she accidentally hit a sore spot. William took Yemi’s hand and pulled her back a little. “Let’s give him a little room, honey.” Yemi stepped back and took her place with the others. Smook straightened up a little. William moved in to help him, but Smook waved him off and gave him a warning look. Smook did not want to appear weak in front of all of his disciples. Smook cleared his throat and looked out at everyone. “Ok everyone I promised you the whole story of Agragag and I.” He waved his hand and chairs appeared behind everyone. “Please sit, this will be a long story.”

“Agragag and I met when we were both about thirteen years old. Our fathers had both decided that we should follow Erie as a mentor. Erie was a great mage in those times, although he was eventually defeated and most people have chosen not to mention him. They also don’t mention him because he was masquerading as good, but the man was evil deep in his soul. We were beaten daily, yet when I told my father he accused me of stories and said if I was being beaten I was probably doing something wrong. Strangely enough, Agragag and I learned incredible amounts from him. But anyways, back to Agragag and I’s story.

Agragag grew up in an impoverished household. However, he showed remarkable talent at an early age as a mage. He once told me a story about how he was grounded for a week because he got upset and accidentally set a broom on fire. Well he got so upset about being grounded for something he didn’t understand that he almost burned the entire house down. His parents didn’t find it nearly as funny as we did. So his father bartered to have him mentored by Erie. His parents really sacrificed, but it was worth it – Agragag was incredible at spells, even more so than I.

I was born the opposite of Agragag. Wealthy, pampered, and not loved nearly as much. It was decided that I would be apprenticed as a mage no matter what my talent. My parents had the money to bring me to anyone. Luckily, I had the talent and if it wasn’t quite what Agragag’s was, we were close and soon made our mark as the top two students. Despite our differences, we soon became friends instead of competitors. While my talents stemmed more from the healing arts, Agragag was more talented in the offensive magics. So we helped each other and soon far surpassed any of his other students.

Our talent will soon be important but first I want to stress how close of a relationship we had. Back in those days, women only trained with female mages. We were denied the ability to leave the hall and as we grew up we relied more and more on each other. We were confidants and friends. We banded together and played pranks on the other students. Because of our talent, Erie was not as harsh with us, and we took advantage of it. As we grew older, we grew even closer. Both of our first kisses were with each other. Now wipe those disgusted looks off of your faces. I do prefer women, but they were not available back then. I’m not ashamed to say that when hormones were raging and puberty was happening we turned to each other for pleasure. It was actually quite romantic. One night he walked in on me with my hand down my pants and instead of getting all embarrassed we talked. He admitted that there were feelings between us that were more than brotherly and we should act. He held my chin in his hand and looked deep into my eyes. I have to confess I blushed a little and thought about it. At my barely perceptible nod, he leaned forward and gave me a soft kiss. Passion soon took over and we were all over each other like a hobbit on second breakfast. We were almost inseparable. We once had a fight over a maid, but Erie found out about it and killed the maid. That was our first indication that Erie was not all that he seemed, and Agragag and I grew even closer.

Because of our talent, Erie once took us aside and tried to recruit us for a mission. This was when we were about seventeen. We had gained enough strength and knowledge that he was starting to see us more as equals and less as students. He was looking for a scroll. A scroll with the power to harness a mage’s power and turn it into a violent weapon. This weapon would be able to wreak havoc on the world, and grant the creator eternal life and extreme power. Agragag and I refused this mission, thinking that such a weapon would be a disgrace for any mage to own. Erie attacked us for the first time then. I honestly believe that he meant to kill us. Between the two of us, we were able to escape. Agragag actually saved my life that day. Erie sent a blast of flame towards me, and I knew I would not be able to deflect it. He stepped in and sent it back to Erie. Erie easily sidestepped it, but it distracted him long enough for us to get away. I don’t know what I would have done had it not been for him.

We fled to another mage, a man named Dimitri. He was Erie’s equal, but his heart was pure. After hearing our story he was deeply disturbed. At first he thought we were merely being rebellious, but I will never forget his reaction when we mentioned the scroll. Lightning streaked out from him and scorched the walls. Luckily they didn’t catch fire, but black marks marred the previously white walls. Dimitri paced the floor furiously and ignored our attempts to understand or explain. Finally, he stopped in the middle of the room and held up a hand. We immediately fell silent. ‘I once spoke of this scroll to Erie. I had found ancient writings that spoke of it. We agreed that it would be best to never think upon it or attempt to find it. We swore that we would never tell another soul in case they decided to find it.’ We stood there and stared in wonder as we realized what must have happened. Erie had finally shown his true colors. Dimitri took us in, and we studied even more under him. We flourished, and finally, when Agragag and I were 25 years old, he pronounced us finished. When we left the hall, it was the first time we had any contact with the outside world in eight years.

After that fateful day when we arrived we had not thought about the scroll or mentioned it to each other. I had all but forgotten about it when we left. I arrived home to show off to my father what I had become. When I arrived home, there was nothing there but a burned out shell of a structure that was slowly giving into the ravages of time. I had not been home in twelve years. I ran to a neighboring house where an old friend of my father’s used to live. Luckily Albus still lived there, and he explained that about eight years ago the house mysteriously was engulfed in flames in the middle of the night, and everyone involved was killed. He sat there patiently while I sobbed out my fury and despair on the floor in a heap. It was obvious that as punishment for my betrayal Erie had murdered my family. Albus was nice enough to let me stay with him for a few days, before I collected the inheritance and moved to my own place. I was so used to living with others I hadn’t given a thought to my own place. Surprisingly, the inheritance was huge and I bought this place, which I have resided in ever since.

Once I was settled, I met with Dimitri and Agragag to work out a plan for revenge. This sounds rather rash, but I wasn’t sleeping or eating. Nightmares haunted my dreams and the guilt was eating me alive. I found out then that Erie had done the same to Agragag’s family and he was just as thirsty for blood as I was. To our mutual surprise, Dimitri told us that Erie had been destroyed eight years ago. He was very tight-lipped about the affair, and I later found out that he and another powerful mage, Sebastian, had gone after Erie and killed him, but it had been a very bloody battle and Sebastian had also lost his life. I’m only sorry that they didn’t get to him before he got to my family, and I offered a prayer for the soul of Sebastian. I gave up on revenge and got on with my life. Agragag and I stayed in touch, although we discontinued our relationship. That type of thing was accepted from students, but not mages in the community. Eventually I took up students of my own, but Agragag preferred to live alone. We kept in touch, but drifted apart over the years. Before I knew it, we had completely lost touch. Agragag was always busy or did not respond or would not see me. He became very closeted off from the world and conducted his business in a secretive manner. Other than our interesting visit yesterday, I have not spoken to him in fifteen years.”

The disciples all look at each other in shock. They did not know that Smook had such a turbulent past. A younger student, Peter, suddenly spoke up. “That battle – that’s the battle of Christoff vs. Shase and Janson.” Smook smiled and nodded. “Very good. I forgot to mention that the story is told today, but we changed the names to protect those involved. I’m afraid Erie had more allies than we knew and there was a lot of backlash against us because he kept his corruption hidden for so long.” William looked thoughtful. “So does the violence have anything to do with the scroll that you mentioned?” Smook chuckled, “I have taught you guys well. Yes it does. I had no idea why Agragag would suddenly contact me after fifteen years of reclusive behavior. It never occurred to me that this horrid scroll would come back into my life after so long.” Smook grew pensive for a moment. Theresa broke though his concentration, “Well don’t keep us in suspense. What happened yesterday?”

“I arrived there thinking that Agragag was looking to renew our friendship. We meant so much to each other that I thought he was regretting the loss of contact between us. William mentioned I had been talking in my sleep when you guys found me, so you already know he was not acting in a friendly capacity.

When I arrived at Agragag’s home, I was surprised to see how he was living. He had risen high from his poor beginnings, but his home was rather small for a mage. It showed signs of neglect all around as there were pieces missing from the roof, the paint was peeling, and dead shrubbery decorated the landscape. I was upset to see my friend living this way, and was going to offer for him to move in here and help me with my rowdy students.” Smook gave the disciples a wry look then continued. “I went in and he embraced me like no time had passed. He seemed nervous, but I chalked it up to the length of time since we had seen each other. Our initial embrace lasted forever; it just felt so good to hold him in my arms again. Out of habit, I turned my face up and we kissed. He shied back after a moment. He brought me inside and we talked of pleasantries and superficial things until I finally placed my hand on his. He stilled and looked at me expectantly. I asked him what he had been doing for all these years. The immediate transformation was startling. Suddenly the nervousness was gone and he threw himself out of his chair and paced the room with his back straight. He explained that after he had found out that Erie had murdered his parents he had plunged into despair. I tried to offer comfort and express that I would have been there had he let me, but he brushed me off. He was pissed at Dimitri for not telling us what had happened to our families. As the years went by, his resentment grew and he turned bitter and reclusive. He expected me to feel the same way, but I had dealt with my pain.

Finally, he said that he was going to show me something amazing. I followed him through the house to his library. The whole room was dusty, and there were objects all over the room. Bookshelves ran from floor to ceiling and were filling with dusty old tomes. A large table took up the center. It was covered in scrolls of all shapes and sizes. He walked over and plucked one from the top. ‘Read this,’ he said. I scanned the scroll then did a double-take and read it carefully. I looked at him in astonishment. ‘Is it…’ I couldn’t even finish the question. Agragag nodded and looked self satisfied. ‘I did it,’ he boasted. ‘I found the impossible.’ I dropped my bag in astonishment. He explained that he had been searching for it ever since he pulled himself out of the depression and into anger. He had found it three years ago and had spent the last three years perfecting the spell. He brushed one of the scrolls out of the way on the table and reached for a bejeweled golden box. He opened it reverently and took out a gleaming blade with no hilt. ‘This gives me the ultimate power.’ He was looking at the blade with an intense lust. Agragag reached out and took my hand.

As his hand touched mine, I was suddenly experienced a vision of the creation of the dagger. I saw Agragag standing over the scroll, mouthing the words of the spell as he read them. After a few moments his face lit up with excitement and he grabbed an old ornate dagger from the table. He separated the hilt from the blade. He took a ceremonial dagger from its case and slit his wrists. He held them over the blade, and as his blood poured down his arms and onto the blade he chanted the words of the spell. He became weak from loss of blood but he never moved to stop it. A light flashed over the scene, illuminating his face as it flared with triumph. The blade turned to black onyx then hardened. The blood flowed back up his arms against gravity and back into his body. The wounds sealed and he lifted the blade high above his head and completed the spell by driving the blade into the heart of a young girl tied to a table. I hadn’t noticed her till then and my heart broke as I heard her screams and the maniacal laughter emanating from Agragag. Luckily I was brought back to the present by Agragag speaking.

His voice became hoarse. ‘We can rule together. You and I made a great couple back then. I’m willing to share all of this power. The spell I cast made me immortal.’ I backed away from him in horror. I couldn’t believe what he had done. My voice wouldn’t work. My words came out in a faint whisper. ‘We swore we’d never go near this. You’ve become like Erie.’ Out of nowhere he slapped me. ‘I am nothing like Erie,’ he yelled. ‘If you won’t join me then you will have to be disposed of.’ I grew very afraid and tried to reason with him but he had already been corrupted by this blade. I could sense the essence of his life combining with tendrils of power that leaked out from the blade, corrupting him. It was too late for him.

Agragag suddenly took the offensive. I already mentioned that he was always much better than I at fighting and although I learned a few tricks over the years I was nothing compared to him with the power of this dagger behind him. He waved his hand and a whip of pure flame appeared in his hand. I could feel the heat across the room but he appeared to feel nothing. He began to dance around the room, flipping the whip at me. I managed to dodge the weapon, but I knew I needed to get out of there. As I was thinking, he hit me with the whip. Pain flared through my body, and I ceased thinking and tried to act. I threw several spells at him, which he deflected easily, hitting me several more times until I fell to the ground in agony. At this point my body was covered in burns and scratches from bumping into things as I tried to dodge. He loomed above me and I frantically tried to heal myself. He still had the blade in his hand and it occurred to him to use it. He raised it above his head and I barely had time to roll before it hit me. It was aimed for my heart and I knew my best friend intended to kill me. He must have been pissed that he missed because he kicked me and I slid across the room. I hit my head hard on the table and between the kick and the impact, I broke a few ribs. Luckily, I landed near my bag that I had dropped. I knew I had a recall potion in it, and I was able to quaff it before he had a chance to get to me again. Then I was back here and you guys know the rest of the story.”

The disciples were silent for a few minutes as they took the story in. Damien was the first to speak, “Ok, so what do we do now?” Smook sighed. “Damien and William – we will be going back to Agragag’s after I finish healing. You two are my strongest and remind me of Agragag and myself when we were young. I hope the two of you will remind him of what we once had. The rest of you, I will later have a list of things that we need. Once we go there, I hope that we can take the dagger from him. I can’t defeat or kill him and we don’t even stand a chance together. He is too powerful. When I was reading the scroll there was a mention of a binding spell. I hope to use it to bind the dagger to a hilt that will prevent him from using the power. Now everyone please go for awhile, I need to rest.” The disciples started to file out of the room, subdued. “Damien and William, please stay for a moment.”

Damien and William stayed back until the last person had left, then shut the door. Immediately, Smook collapsed back into the pillows as the illusion of strength fell from him. Damien looked shocked while William muttered scolding words at Smook and moved him to be more comfortable. “Don’t fuss; I need to maintain the illusion of strength. I fear it will be several weeks before I am able to leave the hall for this. For now, I need you two to spend all of your time in the library, reading up on spells. Damien, William will show you the room I mean. Don’t look so shocked young man. I’ve known about your nocturnal wanderings since you started. I actually sent you a tiny compulsion to go down there, thinking it would come in handy one day.” Smook chuckled. “Now please go. I’ll be alright.” Damien and William looked at each other then William beckoned for Damien to follow.

Damien and William walked out to the hall to find Theresa listening intently at the door. She stammered as they walked out and caught her. “I…I uh was just waiting for William. I didn’t mean to pry. Is he going to be alright?” William took her hand and she calmed down immediately. He gave her a quick peck on her lips then stepped back. “It’s ok honey. He’ll be fine, but Damien and I have some work we need to do.” She nodded, and Damien and William walked through the dark pathway William and Theresa had taken the previous night.

Damien looked around in awe at the library. “This is amazing. I can’t believe you never showed me this place.” William scuffed his foot sheepishly. “Sorry, it was kinda just my place until I took Theresa here last night.” Damien nodded knowingly and winked at William. Together, they took down a scroll and starting pouring over it. They practiced deflecting spells, using the enchanted window as something to aim at. Luckily, the enchantments extended to protecting the window. Finally, after several hours, Damien got it right and they both jumped up for joy. They threw their arms around each other and danced in a circle. As they were jumping around, Damien suddenly leaned forward and kissed William. They stopped, and then jumped apart. “Sorry man, I didn’t mean to, I think Smook’s story got to me a little.” William looked thoughtfully at Damien. “Well it wasn’t so bad, you know. Perhaps we could…” Damien shook his head forcefully. “Oh no. I’m cool now, thanks.” William nodded. “So we’re…” “We’re cool.” “Ok great. But Damien…” “Yeah?” “Wouldn’t it be a great way to throw their old relationship back in Agragag’s face?” Damien thought about it for a moment. “If we have to. But I’m not comfortable with turning our backs or not focusing on him when we’re there.” William nodded and they went back to work.

Weeks passed, and Damien and William grew even stronger. They spent all of their time down in the library, but that incident was never mentioned again. Their relationship continued as it always had, with Damien teasing William about the time he took off to spend time with Theresa. That relationship was blooming, and Damien thought that he wouldn’t be surprised if they got married. After eight weeks had passed, they had both mastered all of the spells that they could find and went before Smook to pronounce themselves ready.

Smook received them fully clothed and doing exercises. He was mostly back to normal, with only the occasionally twinge from his side. Damien checked the wound and was astonished that it had healed so much so fast. Smook explained that as time passed, he was gradually ably to use a small amount of his healing powers on it and that he had sped it along. William frowned, and Smook cut him off before he could speak. “You needed your energy to practice. Now about that. How do you think you are doing?” Damien responded, “We’re ready, master. When do you want to go?” Smook thought about it then decided. “We’ll go tonight. He is probably thinking we’ll take longer to regroup. I’m just a little nervous because he has not come here.” Damien pondered the question. William looked up. “Is it possible you struck something good and broke a little of the hold the dagger had over him?” Smook frowned. “I wish I could say yes, but his heart had already turned when he began to look for the scroll. It doesn’t matter. We’ll leave tonight, but be ready for anything. And you must bring a recall potion. It may be the only way that we can escape.” He continued on and outlined the plan till he was sure the two were ready. Then the boys went to go pack some things and prepare, and Smook went to instruct the rest of the disciples in how to prepare for the making of the hilt. Everything had to be perfect when they got back and the hilt ready to be made the second they returned with the blade. He took Yemi aside and whispered a quick plan to her. Her face showed her fear, but she nodded her trembling head. She ran off in a corner to cry and while Smook looked after her with a regretful look on his face, he instructed everyone to leave her alone and continue on with their work. Finally, all of the preparations were made and the three of them cast their spells to appear inside of Agragag’s home.

They appeared the room adjacent to the one where Agragag kept the dagger. Smook motioned for everyone to be silent. He tiptoed over to the door, where light was shining underneath. He put his eye to the keyhole and frowned. Agragag was sitting in the next room stroking the blade. The screams that had been present the last time he was here were blessedly silent so he could make out the sounds of Agragag mumbling something to himself. He pressed his ear closer to the keyhole and listened. “I can’t kill him. But I must. But what about what we had? It’s for nothing – he betrayed me.” This went on for awhile with increasing speed. Smook backed away slowly. He gestured for both Damien and William to go look and see what they were dealing with. One at a time, they crept forward and peered through the keyhole. Damien was backing away slowly when he made a misstep and a board creaked. The sound slashed through the silence and they all gaped at each other in horror.

Agragag was startled out of his reverie when the sound of a creak came from the next room. He roared his anger. “WHO’S THERE?” he bellowed. No sounds came from the next room. He stalked over and threw open the door, his dagger held before him. He threw back his head and laughed as he saw who was there. “What, did you really think that the three of you could defeat me? You, my dear Smook, who barely escaped with your life last time while I didn’t have a scratch on me? And your two little children – how cute.” Damien stepped in front of William to protect him and Agragag stopped for a second, the vision of himself doing that for Smook superimposed over the boys. Smook smiled as he saw Agragag look confused for a moment. He had cast a spell to show Agragag what they once had. Agragag suddenly shook it off. “You had your chance to join me and you betrayed me. Now you want the power for yourself. You greedy little man, you are no friend of mine!” Agragag was growing more agitated by the minute and had started slashing the air with the dagger to exaggerate his point. Smook gave a quick hand gesture to William and Damien, which meant that they would have to watch for the attack he knew was coming. “Agragag, I never wanted the power. Only to save your soul for the sake of our friendship.” Agragag laughed. “You fool. My soul means nothing when I will soon have everything that I ever wanted.” He suddenly flipped his hand and the whip of flames was in his hand and he flicked it at Smook, who jumped back out of the way. “Please Agragag, don’t do this. Let me destroy the blade and we can go back to how we were.” Agragag answered him by whipping the flames at him again. “The dagger can’t be destroyed,” he bluffed. Smook knew that there was only one place that it could be destroyed, and he also knew that Agragag knew he would never get it there in time. However, Smook had read into the spell and knew that the power would revert back to Agragag if the blade was destroyed, but it would drive him crazy. Already, he could see how the blade consumed Agragag and how he was slowly becoming unstable.

Agragag suddenly rushed Smook, raising the blade at him. He was so focused on Smook’s betrayal that he forgot about the other two in the room. He started to slam the blade towards Smook but Damien suddenly jumped in the way. William stole the hilt from the room while Agragag was occupied. Smook tried to shove Damien to stop him from taking the blow, but he was too late. The blade pierced Damien’s heart and his blood flowed over his body to the floor. Agragag was confused by the appearance of Damien and stopped for a moment. William took advantage of this and grabbed the blade from Agragag. He yelled “Now!” Seeing that Damien was unconscious, he grabbed him and held on tight as he quaffed his potion, and Smook did the same. They appeared back in the hall where everyone was waiting. William quickly dropped Damien then activated the spell that rendered the hall untraceable for several minutes. Smook began barking orders. “The spell will only hold for a few minutes before he unravels it. We need the hilt now.” William started to turn to heal Damien, but Smook yelled, “Leave him, this is more important.”

Everyone raced into place. The entire group began chanting the ancient words that Smook had taught them. Smook himself stood over a table and took the hilt. Everyone faltered slightly as they saw hilt of an ornate dagger, remembering what Smook had told them Agragag did to the blade make it in the first place. Smook glared around him and they all kept going with the ritual watching warily. He placed the hilt on the hilt edge of the blade. Yemi stepped forward and William took up a place beside her. After a quick look at William to confirm that he was ready, Yemi jumped onto the table and sat next to the clay. Smook took out a ceremonial dagger from a fold in his robes and held it high above his head. The chanting around him took on a muted quality as everyone prayed silently that he was not about to do it. Yemi nodded once, and Smook drove the dagger into her heart. Everyone gasped, and the gasp broke the chain of chanting for the first time. William moved into place to heal Yemi, but was distracted as Michael suddenly came rushing at him and tackled him away from her. Time was of the essence and William struggled to get up as Smook rushed to heal Yemi. He was too late, and she took a last shaking breath as William finally managed to get Michael off of him and stand. The room was so still you could hear a pin drop. Smook delicately lifted Yemi off of the blade to see if the spell had worked; if the sacrifice had been worth it. He brushed the hair that had fallen over her face, behind her ear and gazed at her face for a moment before turning to the blade.

He gazed on the dagger. Then a slash of agony manifested itself on his face as the tears rolled down. “You fools,” he whispered, looking around the room. He held up the blade in one hand and the hilt in the other. “You stopped in the middle of the binding spell. It can never be made whole now. She was going to be healed, how could you think I intended to sacrifice her.” His voice had gotten very quiet and he was obviously mourning the loss of one of his students. The students just stared at Smook – they had never seen him looking so raw and anguished. He whispered again, “Two for nothing.” William took the hilt from Smook and ran a finger over it, tracing the symbol ‘$’ with his index finger. William suddenly remembered that he had dropped a wounded Damien. He raced over and frantically felt for a pulse. He looked up at Smook with a mask of pain slashed across his face. Smook shook his head. “He was dead the second the dagger pierced his heart. He didn’t suffer and there was nothing we could have done to help him. I needed you to not be distracted for Yemi.”

A movement by the door caught his eye, and Smook turned slowly and waved a hand so the door slammed shut. Michael jumped. He had been caught trying to sneak out. He looked around frantically but all he saw were accusing faces and nowhere to go. Smook walked over and stood before him. He scanned his mind, rummaging painfully through Michael’s head. When he was satisfied that he knew what had happened, he stepped close to Michael, who was shaking in fright. He looked deep into Michael’s eyes and kissed him gently on his forehead. Michael stopped shaking. Smook whispered softly, “I forgive you.” When he stepped back, Michael was utterly still. William reached out to touch his arm, to demand an explanation, but Michael’s body fell apart as tiny pieces of ash. Smook had burned him from the inside. The disciples all stared in fright. No one moved an inch for fear Smook’s wrath would come down upon them. Smook looked around him at all of his disciples. For the first time ever, Smook looked every single one of his long years. Smook sighed, he was tired. He strangely found that he did not have the stomach for any of this anymore. He spoke wearily, “Go to your rooms. You’ll hear from William what to do later.” He beckoned for William to follow him and together they went to Smook’s study.

Smook looked at William. He was in his early 20’s and stood taller than Smook. His wavy brown hair flowed to his broad shoulders. Smook sighed to himself. Youth was wasted on the young. William gave Smook a questioning look. “Michael was jealous of your relationship with Theresa. He wanted you for himself. He went to Agragag, who changed him. Killing him was a kindness.” With that, Smook walked over to a basin and was thoroughly sick. William rubbed his back. “But why not stop the ritual, why only stop me.” Smook was quiet for a moment. “I believe Agragag did not have enough time to completely convert him. He was still focused on you.” William nodded and was silent. They stood there in silence, each trying to come to terms with the events of the day. Tears poured down William’s face as he thought about those he considered a friend, while Smook stood there dry-eyed, though his emotions played across his face. Smook put an arm around William and sighed. “I need to go away for awhile and I’ll be taking the blade with me. He can sense that it’s changed and that’s why he is not attacking. He’ll be drawn to the blade and therefore stay away from here. William…” Smook paused here. “I won’t be coming back. I am going to seek out Eva. I believe she can help bind the blade to the hilt.” William raised his eyes in astonishment. “But she’ll kill you!” Smook shook his head. “It’s true we were once involved, but that was a long time ago.” “Smook, you turned her down and broke her heart. For all of her playing around and power-hungry nature, she loved you.”

Smook stopped and thought about the last time he had seen Eva. She had looked beautiful in her anger. She stood taller than most women, although she was still shorter than he. Her jet black hair flowed down to the small of her back although she kept it tied back usually. She had delicate features, which had turned angry and livid as he had explained the reasons why they could never be together. Her feminine red nails had turned black and grown into talons. She had lashed out at him, only to dissolve into tears and fall to the ground, tearing apart the dirt at her feet. He had quickly disappeared to escape the brunt of her anger, and his last image of her was the hatred on her face as she swore to get even. Smook swallowed. It would be difficult to convince her to help him, but it was for the good of the world. He placed a hand on William’s shoulder and said, “Son, sometimes you have to put the world first.” William nodded and said, “Will I ever see you again?” Smook shook his head no. “Watch for the dagger, I’ll send it back to you when it is complete. I’m going to put a repulsion on it so that he can never harm the bearer of it. Watch over the rest. They’re only children.” William nodded and the two men embraced. Smook disappeared in a puff of smoke.

William walked slowly back out to the other disciples and Theresa rushed to his side. She wrapped her arms around him and burst into tears. He held onto her like a dying man to his only salvation and related what Smook had told him. The students had varying degrees of reaction, but all were disappointed and upset. They all agreed to stay for the time being and William became their new mage to follow. He told everyone to take a few days off and relax, and he and Theresa went to the library room and just sat there, staring out at the garden in silence. His arms tightened around her and he tilted his head to look at her face. She smiled at him and snuggled closer. He whispered, “You mean more to me than anyone ever has. I don’t know how I would be standing now if it wasn’t for you.” Theresa blushed and lowered her eyes. Suddenly, William slid off of the couch and got down on one knee. He looked up at Theresa and took her hand. He waved his free hand and a box with a gorgeous diamond ring appeared. “I love you, Theresa. Will you marry me?” Theresa gasped in astonishment and tears appeared in her eye. She rushed to kiss William and kept saying “yes, oh yes,” over and over.

In the meantime, Smook had finally reached Eva’s door. He thought it was better to request permission to enter rather than just appearing. He knocked and Eva answered the door herself. Her fairly welcoming face turned to sheer hatred as she saw who was at her door. He nails lengthened into talons and she was about to strike him. “Wait please Eva. I know you must hate me now but I need your help.” “HELP?!?” She shrieked. “After what you did you want me to help you?” Smook held up a hand. “Please just hear me out. If you won’t help me I’ll even let you get a free strike on me before I leave.” Eva’s face turned wary. She stepped back to invite him in and her talons faded back into nails. The cold look in her eyes remained, but she was curious as to why he would come back here.

Smook appeared to be fighting to find the words, and she looked at him impatiently. “Well?” she snapped. Smook sighed. “Before I start I just want to say how sorry I am for how it ended be-...” Eva cut him off saying, “Save it, I haven’t been pining for you all these years. Why are you here?” Smook nodded. He told her the story of everything that had transpired. At the mention of the blade her eyes had lit up. She smiled seductively and said, “You wouldn’t happen to have this blade on you, would you?” She ran a manicured hand down his chest and he swallowed, remembering how good it had been between them. He shook his head, clearing it of the fuzziness her seduction had always caused. “Sorry Eva, but it already has bound itself to Agragag.” She frowned and stepped back, all business again. “Then why would you bring it here? What do you need from me?” Smook brought out the blade and the hilt. “They need to be bound. I believe that only you have the skill necessary to do this.”

Eva brushed off the obvious flattery as an attempt to butter her up. She looked carefully at the blade and hilt. She looked up at him. “The spell was interrupted.” Smook nodded. “A glitch with my students.” She looked inquisitively at him, but turned back to the task at hand when it became apparent that he was not going to elaborate. She stroked a hand lovingly down the blade and sighed. So much power there yet it was tied to someone else. She chuckled to herself. Smook knew her so well. She couldn’t have it so she would help him bind it so no one could. For a moment, she toyed with the idea of refusing to help, but then decided it wouldn’t be worth it. This Agragag could come after her and his strength would always be a threat. She looked at Smook and nodded. “I can fix it, but it will take several days of spells and I will need your strength.” Smook nodded and spoke the traditional words of offering, “What I have is yours for the taking.” Eva nodded. They went into her work room and she readied everything that she would need. As she was aligning the various crystals and rocks she looked up at Smook. “It wasn’t all bad between us, was it?” Smook shook his head and looked her indulgently. “I did truly love you, but we would have come to resent each other and be bitter enemies. It is better than we never married.” Eva thought about it and nodded, with most of her anger gone.

Eva had Smook repeat the spell that they had used several times, until she had gotten it firmly grasped into her head. Then she began. Several days passed, with neither Smook nor Eva eating or drinking or pausing from the spells. She went through all of her strength then relentlessly tapped Smook for his. She changed the fabric of the spell and managed to change it to be bound. Her voice turned hoarse and she could barely stand at times but she kept going. A noxious cloud filled the room from the blade, but they kept going, breathing in the stuff until it made them sick. Finally, she managed to get the blade to accept the hilt. However, she added a twist. She could sense the deep connection between Agragag and the blade. She knew that he would never stop pursuing it, and that the hilt would only repel him to an extent. She inserted a notch into the dagger, and a matching crystal. She put a special spell on the crystal to help it serve the best purpose. Eva also managed to turn the blade into a deadly weapon that could kill Agragag, despite his supposed immortality. Smook looked at her when they were finished and asked what it was for. She stuck the crystal in the notch and the dagger fell apart. He looked at her questioningly. She explained that it would allow the blade to come out so the person with it could destroy Agragag. Smook smiled and spun her around in a circle. “You’re amazing.” She smiled, but the feelings were too much and she wiggled away from him. “Even better,” she said. “The crystal has a spell so that it will only appear on one with a true heart that Agragag is attempting to use to get to the blade.” Smook beamed. Everything that he had gone through the past few days had not been for nothing. He waved a hand and the dagger disappeared. Eva looked at him in shock and he explained that William was going to carry it. Eva started to stand up, but found that she lacked the strength. She looked scared. “Smook, will you carry me? I think I need to eat now.” Smook tried to stand up as well, but was too weak. “The poison. We ignored it while we were working, but I think it is taking its toll.” Eva tried to respond but the poison suddenly hit her hard and she fell to the ground. Smook tried to crawl to her, but he collapsed too. And then everything went dark and their bodies faded away.

William was standing in front of the priest, Father Jordan, in a suit when the dagger appeared in his pocket. He gave a wry smile at the timing, but continued to repeat his vows. Theresa glanced at him questioningly but then repeated her vows after the priest. The priest then pronounced them man and wife, and William swept her into his arms and kissed her deeply. “I’m glad we decided not to wait.” Theresa nodded and smiled happily. She looked around and beamed at all of their friends and family who were present. They had a small ceremony, just their families and the other disciples. Flowers adorned every possible surface, sending a fragrant scent over the area. Suddenly every disciple in the room stopped moving. They looked at William for the answer to the sudden emptiness that filled their bodies. “He’s dead,” William said simply, tears rushing to his eyes. They all huddled together while the families stood around stunned until the priest spoke. “I know you all feel the loss, but Smook would want you to celebrate life, not mourn loss.” Father Jordan had been close with Smook, and so he knew well the loss they felt, but also knew what Smook would have wanted. William nodded, and the group celebrated in honor of Smook for the rest of the night.

As the celebration went on, they were unaware of what was happening in Agragag’s home. Agragag was on the floor, panting as another spasm of pain wreaked havoc in his body. He leaned over and vomited for the third time. His body was chilled, and he was shivering so hard he thought something would break. He had felt it when the blade was changed and it was slowly killing him. He knew that he was immortal, but he didn’t know that it would kill him then change him. Already, the pain was dissipating and he could feel his body losing substance. He laughed cruelly. They had turned him into a wraith and he would now be even more unstoppable. After several grueling hours the pain was finally gone and his transformation was complete. He waved a hand and the room was cleaned of the filth that he had expelled from his body. He smiled to himself and began to plot to get his beloved dagger back.

The years passed and William and Theresa had three children, Aiden, Cadence and Chuck. William and Theresa protected them from Agragag and William wrote out a scroll with everything that had happened. It was passed down through his line as Mia married Andrew and had Madison and Scott. Scott married Jayden and they had Rebecca and Evan. Evan married Cassandra, and together they had one son, Logan. In the past, the scroll and the dagger had been passed down through the strongest mage in the family, but Cassandra died in childbirth with Logan and Logan was not a very powerful mage. Evan was a shell of himself and barely instructed Logan at all. Over the generations, Agragag had tried to get close to the family to destroy them, but had never succeeded because of their strength and the repulsion of the hilt. Agragag became more and more desperate to touch the blade and was slowly losing his mind as he strained more and more towards the blade. It was the single obsession of his life, and he often stole people close to the family and tortured them for years just to hear about the blade. As the years went by he also started to despise the blade. It was holding him here in this hell and he could never be released. Instead of snatching the blade, he began to think of ways to destroy it. He finally saw his chance when Evan died and Logan became the bearer of the blade.

Logan was walking into town one day for supplies, when he came across a beautiful girl sitting by the side of the road. He stopped and asked why she was crying. She said her name was Mia and explained that a wraith had been haunting the area, looking for someone to attack a man named Logan – and he had destroyed her home and family when she refused to be that person. Logan explained who he was, and the basics of the story, and took her home to be under his protection. He had taken to caring for those that had been harmed in some way by Agragag since he had little magical ability and could not do much else. Logan knew, however, that Mia was special. They soon realized that hey were in love and got married. A few months after they were wed, Mia came and told Logan that she was pregnant. Logan immediately puffed up and was boasting of his prowess to anyone that would listen, attracting undue attention to himself. He decided that he would take no chances with Mia’s life or that of his unborn child, so he confined Mia to the hall that had been in his family for years and had many safeguards set into place. She was not allowed to even walk in the garden. Logan had been acting weird and distant for the past month. Mia thought that Logan was being unreasonable, so one day when he was out she decided to take a walk to a nearby village to do a little shopping.

Mia traveled all over and bought ribbons for her hair and a new dress, but soon tired. She went to the inn and rented a room for the afternoon. She laid down and was soon fast asleep. When she awoke, it was dusk. She had slept much longer than she had anticipated. She hurried to get her things together then hurried down the road on the way to the hall. She knew Logan would be worried. She stumbled a little as the rocks in the darkness kept tripping her in her haste to get home. When she was about halfway home, she tripped again and landed hard on her side. Her bulky stomach made it difficult to get up, and as she struggled to her feet she saw a shadowy figure circle her. A voice hissed in the darkness. “It’s almost too easy,” and gave an evil laugh. The shadow reached out and with a touch, Mia fell to the ground dead. Agragag reached into her stomach and pulled out the fetus, leaving a gaping hole in her stomach. He set it on fire and left it next to Mia for Logan to find.

Logan was pacing the hall. He was furious that Mia had disobeyed him. He knew that she thought he was unreasonable, but he couldn’t bear to burden her with his troubles while she was so delicate. He snorted. She’d probably kick his ass for calling her delicate. He frowned. She should have been back by now. His mind replayed the events of the past month. Everywhere he went he was finding the bodies of friends and family, dead. They were all accompanied by a note, saying either “surrender the dagger” or “destroy the dagger and all of this will stop.” He had been taught to watch out for Agragag, but this was the first action the family had seen from him in decades. He knew that Agragag was drawn to the dagger, but it appeared that he was starting to turn on it. Logan frowned. He didn’t know if that was good or not, but people around him were dying. Word had gotten out, and he was now being shunned in the village as people were afraid of a curse. He had tried to protect Mia from it, and it looked like she had no clue. But now she wasn’t home. He punched a wall, wondering if she too had left him or if she was in danger.

Knowing he couldn’t stand there and do nothing, he wrapped the dagger in a bundle and set out on the road to the village with it and a journal he carried around. He would finally tell his wife the truth when he found her. About halfway there, he saw something in the road. He created a ball of light and stepped closer. He stumbled over to the side of the road and was sick over and over. He crawled back to the body of his wife and sat there, stroking her face. He cried over the body of his unborn child. It seemed as though something in him broke. He screamed and railed out against the world. He called out to Agragag, trying to draw him there. Agragag appeared from nowhere, and Logan looked in horror upon the wraith that had killed his wife. He shouted at Agragag, “You want the dagger?? Take it!” He threw away generations of tradition of protecting the dagger and offered it to Agragag. Agragag reached out as if to touch it, but the repulsion took effect and he back away from it. He hissed, “It will be mine!” and disappeared. Logan staggered off into the woods and hid there for a week. His sanity kept slipping away and he wrote everything that happened in the journal and drew a picture of the dagger. He screamed in his sleep and never slept for more than 10 minutes at a time. Finally, it became too much for him, and he shut his eyes and whispered, “Forgive me Mia.” He plunged the dagger deep into his belly and twisted. He kept a solid grip on the hilt of the dagger, feeling the ‘$’ for the last time. He staggered in circles before finally falling to the ground on his back with his hands still firmly clutching the dagger. Within minutes, he was dead.

Agragag trashed a room in his home. He was so close to getting the dagger but the damn hilt prevented him from reaching it. The dagger would be both his salvation and his damnation when he reached it but for now it stayed just out of reach taunting him. He decided to send someone unconnected after it. He cast a spell over a bowl of water and was able to see several likely people. He muttered another incantation and laughed as a figured fell onto his cluttered table.

Aysha was waiting for her latest conquest to arrive. He was a rich, powerful and slightly married man, but only the first two qualifications mattered to her. She would have sex with him then use him to further herself. She glanced around the room and smiled as she saw that the candles were lit, the bed turned down invitingly, and smelled a seductive scent throughout the room. She quickly changed into a negligee and arranged herself artfully on the bed. She smiled as she heard footsteps in the hall that paused outside the door. The handle started to turn and suddenly she was jerked and falling and then hit a hard surface, sprawling in an unladylike and uncomfortable position. Papers and objects go flying and she felt something hard stick her. Screams assaulted her ears and she focused on the large figure of a wraith before her who looked fairly surprised to see a mostly naked woman on his table. “Who are you?”

Agragag answered her in a hoarse whisper. “Greetings mortal. I am Agragag and YOU will obey me. Let us discuss your mission. There is a certain item that I require. You will retrieve it for me.” Aysha finally sat up and looked hard at Agragag as he continued. “It is a small dagger. You will know it by the green run on the hilt, like this.” Agragag drew a ‘$’ in the air with a finger. Aysha grew haughty. “Why should I help you?” she demanded. Agragag nudged the corpse on the floor with his foot. He answered in an ominous tone, “If you return with the dagger you will be…rewarded. But if you return without it your doom will be terrible indeed.” Aysha frowned as Agragag touched the corpse while reciting an incantation and it explodes. She flicked a bit of the mess off her skin and Agragag continued. “You will find the dagger somewhere in the Eastern Hills of Emyn Muil.” Aysha stared back, unimpressed. “If you’re so powerful why don’t you get this dagger yourself?” Agragag pretended not to hear her and kept talking, “Once you have the dagger use this scroll to notify me.” He tried to hand her a scroll but dropped it. Aysha looked down at herself. “And how am I supposed to hold this scroll, I’m a little bare right now.” She gestured to her lack of clothing. Agragag bends down and picks up the scroll, getting a good look down Aysha’s negligee in the process. He hands it to her and says, “You will find it somewhere in the eastern hills of Emyn Muil. You have one week. If you fail to return before then, your life is over.” Aysha frowned. “You will return me to where you brought me from?” Agragag smirked, “I will return you to the world, unless you prefer to stay here…” “I want to return to where you took me from…my clothing is there. Hard to go dagger searching in a negligee.” Aysha heard grunts coming from the shadows as she ran her hands seductively down her body for Agragag. “You seem to prefer that attire.” “Yes when it suits me.” “Enough talk! You have one week, if you fail to return before then, your life is over. Now GO!”

Aysha felt the same tug as before and landed in the middle of a group of orcs as her negligee flew up over her head. Something hard poked her, but she pulled down the negligee, blew kisses at the orcs, and brought herself back to her hall. She felt the poke of something hard again and pulled out a crystal. Upon examining it, she saw that it was magical, but could tell little else about it. Eager to get done with what the wraith wanted, she hurried to Verilee’s room, where she kept her clothing, and got dressed. She summoned a servant to get her gear and tell the conquest she would not be arriving. She put the crystal down in on bed while she changed. She then traveled out of Cirith and off to Emyn Muil. Having been giving little direction, Aysha traveled to the eastern hills and wandered around. Finally, she came across a body with a dagger buried in it. Fearing that this was too easy, she checked the body for life, then pulls the dagger out. She recognized the markings as the one Agragag described, and fingered a small slot in the hilt. It reminded her of the crystal, and she searched her pockets for the crystal, only to remember she had left it on the bed. She searched the body before she left and found a journal, describing an evil being haunting the man and referring to the dagger she now held in her hand. She kept it with her for reference and transferred herself back to the hall and raced to the room, relieved to find that the crystal was still there.

She compared the crystal to the slot and then slid it into place. The blade fell to the ground as the crystal clicked into the slot. She quickly put it back together and then decided to try and use Agragag for power. She used the scroll to summon him and confirmed that she had it. She was suddenly jerked and then found herself by the lava on Mount Doom. Agragag greeted her, saying “I sense its presence. Well done, your “reward” is near.” Agragag seemed to be acting oddly and wouldn’t get near her. “Th-T-Throw it into the lava.” “Why did you have me get it if you were just going to destroy it?” Aysha took a step back. “What is this dagger?” Agragag became angry. “Destroy it NOW!” “Not until you answer me!” Agragag was becoming more agitated and lunged at Aysha but quickly jumped back. “Tell me now! Why does this dagger bother you so much?” “It is a dagger of no significance to you. It matters only to me.” “Why?” “The blade is part of an older dagger, made while I still lived.” “I’m not the simple seductress you seem to think I am. After I throw the dagger into the lava you’ll throw me in. What was this older dagger and who were you?”

Agragag had settled down, but he became enraged again. “If you do not throw it in, I will follow you and give you no peace, until your life is of no value to you.” “Like you did to the man I found in Emyn Muil. So it was you he wrote about.” “Once the dagger is destroyed, I will have peace. I will leave you.” “You will go mad and kill me in your madness.” “No! There is enough of my mind left to deal with the loss of my power that is bound up in the blade.” “How can I believe that?” Aysha put the dagger but under her cloak and slid the crystal into place. Keeping her hands hidden, she pulled the two pieces apart. “Believe because you must.” “Why must I? You kill me if I do and you kill me if I don’t…why did you summon me in the first place?” “Because if you do not believe it I will torture you for the rest of your days, or find a way to kill you. There is no life for you while that dagger exists. The dagger must be destroyed at any cost!” “Why? What will destroying the dagger release?” “It will release me, from this bane of an existence always drawn to it yet repulsed by it.” “Does it hold you to life?” “I will be free to pursue other…to do as I please!” “If you existence is such a bane why don’t you just end it?” “The pull of the dagger is too strong. I cannot leave it anymore than you can leave your right eye.” “Answer me honestly, bringing me here, did you intend to kill me right after I destroyed the dagger?” “No I intended only to see it destroyed and leave!” He stammered over the word destroyed and Aysha frowned. In one quick motion she threw the blade directly at Agragag’s heart. “I don’t believe you.” Agragag reached out as it flew towards him then buried itself in his chest. For a moment, nothing happened. “How did you separate it?” Before Aysha could answer, fire and black blood began to drip from the wound. The tear in his essence grew longer and wider until he was suddenly gone in a flash of light. The hilt turned to dust and slipped away from her hand. Aysha stayed for a moment to make sure, but then left, knowing for sure that it was over.