The Tower at Melasurej
Simon drifted in and out of a deep sleep. He was in a soft bed, warm under the heavy covers. At the brief times he awoke, he noticed little, except that a pigeon seemed always to be perched at his window. Sometimes he would see Jhamed sitting next to the bed. At other times, he would see the little man pacing back and forth and mumbling to himself. He slept without dreams, as if he were drugged. Finally, he awoke, and the memory of the atrocities he had committed returned. He curled into a ball and sobbed.
Jhamed was sitting in a chair next to the bed. “Simon, are you awake?” He was wearing his usual hat, but his curls seemed to be evading capture more than usual. There was deep concern in his eyes, and dark rings around them. Unlike Simon, it seemed he had had little sleep.
Slowly, Simon sat up. He was in his quarters at Wizards’ Keep. He couldn’t remember anything of the journey home. Whether he had walked, been dragged, or had been carried he couldn’t say. Anxiously, he felt at his side. He was naked. He looked around. Fleischaker, sheathed in the scabbard Vasek, lay on the dresser. “What happened, Jhamed? How did I get back here? What have I done? Why don’t you put me in prison?”
“Welcome back, my friend. You have slept for almost three days. We found you covered in blood and tears and brought you home. You were incoherent most of the time. Dawit and Taran carried you. We bathed you and put you to bed. By the Balance, I wish Manfred were here. He would know how to help you.”
“Jhamed, I remember. I know what I did. I wanted to kill myself afterwards, but the Sword wouldn’t let me. How can I live with myself? I murdered the entire family and their servants. Even with Freda gone, there is no one to lead them. There will be civil war. Thousands will die and it will be all my fault.” He threw himself back on the bed, weeping.
“Look Simon, I know this is hard to understand, but for the sake of your sanity you must try. It wasn’t you who carried out those acts. It was a new being, a new manifestation of the Everlasting Hero. You formed a Trinity with the Sword and unfortunately, the ruby took control. You have to learn to be in command. Manfred could explain things much better if he were here; curse the old wizard for not being around when you need him. There was some collateral damage, I’m afraid. That’s what happens in war. There will always be innocent victims; you have to learn that quickly. It’s not as bad as you think. With a little help, I removed Prince Christopher and Princess Margaret from the royal chambers before the carnage. They are safe. Prince Christopher will take his rightful place as the new king. I’m confident that things will work out well there. Here, have a drink of water.”
Simon stared at his friend, unmoving. “You knew! You knew that this would happen, but you didn’t warn me. I thought you were my friend. I hate you!”
“I didn’t know for sure, Simon. Manfred told me that something like this might happen. I couldn’t warn you, because then you would have refused to take up the Sword, wouldn’t you. Please, drink this.” Jhamed offered the glass a second time.
Reluctantly Simon took the glass and sipped the water. “I’m sorry Jhamed. It’s not your fault. Someone did warn me. I don’t know who or what it was. I ignored it.” He told Jhamed about the night in the purple forest and the two-headed lemur creature. “I need your friendship and support now, more than ever. Please forgive me for what I said.”
“You’ll say far worse things than that, before we’re done. It’s forgiven and forgotten. Simon, I am your companion and friend. I will always be there for you, if I can be. Wherever you are in the multiverse, look for me. It may not be me, but if there’s another version of me in that plane of existence, he will seek you out to help you. That is our sole purpose. I wish I could come with you on your next task, but it’s impossible. I’m just a tiny baby then, so I’ll be of no use to you. There is no doubt in my mind that we were followed to Dishley, though by whom and for what reason I do not know. Perhaps whoever it is will help you some more. He or she seems to have great power. Curse that Manfred, why can you never find a wizard when you need one. I bet he’s swigging pints of dwarven ale in First Delve by now.” Jhamed took Simon’s hand and held it tenderly. “I’m so sorry about Juliana. I wish I could have prevented that.”
Thoughts of his lost love caused Simon to sink into deep melancholy again. He sank back under the covers, curled himself into a ball, and became wracked with sobs. Jhamed left him to his guilt. I want to die. Why should I take up my next task? I deserve to die. Other thoughts fought their way past his remorse and self-pity. I’m sorry, Simon. I was carried away in my lust. I was so hungry, I could not stop. Please do not punish me. Do not be angry with me. Take me with you on your task. You are the Everlasting Hero. I am your Sword. We are the Trinity. We are meant for each other. We must prevail.
There, in the midst of his torment, Simon understood. Fleischaker was made of two parts, from both law and chaos. It was also made of two aspects, good and evil. It needed balance to be used effectively. He, Simon, had to provide that balance. In order to fight for the Balance, Simon had to find his own inner balance to control the Sword. He spoke aloud, though there was no one in the room.
“It seems that I have no choice. We shall go forward and fight for the Balance, for that is what you were created for. I will never speak the name Fleischaker again. I give you a new name. From this day forth, until such time as you have earned a better name, you shall be known as Kin Slayer. We shall be Simon the Red and Kin Slayer and we shall strike fear into the hearts of all.” Despite himself, Simon laughed. Inside the scabbard, Kin Slayer sighed with contentment and the red ruby in its hilt glowed bright. It had recently consumed the souls of a witch and two wizards. It had much to digest. Satisfied with what it had witnessed, the pigeon on the window ledge flew away.
Three days later, with the dull ache of guilt simmering just below his consciousness, Simon climbed the stairs that led to the High Tower in Wizards’ Keep. Jhamed was with him. Simon was dressed in the jeans and tee shirt he had worn on the fateful morning he had first met Jhamed. Kin Slayer was strapped to his waist. Jhamed was dressed in his usual garb. Simon thought that his tee shirt felt much tighter than it had before. Perhaps he was starting to bulk up and to fill out at last. Melbourne and his studies seemed a lifetime ago, though only a few days had passed since someone had tried to run him down and kill him. Jhamed, or at least a version of Jhamed, had given his life to save him. Since then he had travelled through the dimensions of the multiverse, found a great sword, fallen in love, become the latest aspect of the Everlasting Hero, killed an evil witch, and committed murder most foul. I can still barely believe that this is all for real. I wish that it weren’t. The memory of the blood and the lifeless bodies of his victims resurfaced again. The look on Juliana’s face as Kin Slayer cut her jugular vein would haunt him forever. He had never told her that he loved her. She died thinking that he hated her. The guilt and self-pity welled in his heart again. A few tears ran down his pale face. He sniffed. The stairs were dusty and filled with cobwebs. They spluttered their way through the dust and sticky webs. At least Jhamed would think that the dust was making his nose run. I shall make it up to you, Juliana. I shall find a way to repay my debt. I promise you, my love.
They reached the top of the obsidian tower. The low parapet gave them a complete three hundred and sixty degree view. Simon looked out over the town of Elannort and into the countryside beyond. It was a warm day, the sun was shining out of a clear blue sky, and the fields were flourishing with new life. In the town below, people leisurely went about their business. It was an idyllic sight. Simon tried to capture the vision in his memory. It was, after all, part of what he was fighting to maintain. I wish Juliana could have seen this. She might have understood. He turned inwards. Before him was an archway. It was carved out of the same black rock as the rest of the tower. Indeed, it seemed to be an integral part of the tower, growing organically from the rest. There seemed nothing special about the archway. Simon could see through it - a large, empty cobbled square and then the opposite side of Elannort and its spiralling streets. “What is that square and why is it empty?”
“It is called Future Square,” Jhamed replied. “It is said to have been left by the Great Old Ones for some future building that never happened. It is a spooky place and no one goes in there. Anyway, stop changing the subject. You have a job to do.”
Beside the archway was a black box with a series of dials that were locked into a fixed setting. “Manfred has selected the settings,” Jhamed said. “It will take you to a time around thirty thousand years ago and a place far from here. Manfred and his twin Mandred will both be there. Remember that you must not let them know that you are from the future or that you have met or will meet Manfred before. It’s confusing me already. You must behave as you think best and deal with the situations that arise. Manfred would tell me no more. When you are ready to return you must want in your heart to come back and you must picture this place in your mind. I’m afraid that you will be naked when you get there. I hope that it’s summer time, for your sake. I hope that it’s dark, for theirs.” He laughed at his little joke, but his heart wasn’t really in it. “Do you understand?”
Simon nodded. “Are you sure Kin Slayer will go with me?”
“Manfred assured me that it would be so. It is part of you now and you are part of it. You have killed together.”
“Thanks for reminding me.” Simon sighed. “I suppose I had better get it over with.”
At that moment, there was a sound of feet on the stairs and muffled shouts. Taran ran out onto the parapet. He was followed a short while later by Dawit. The dwarf was puffing and panting hard. Taran hardly seemed out of breath. “Did you think to sneak off without saying goodbye?” Taran asked. “We are not that easy to shake,” Dawit gasped.
Simon was embarrassed. He had deliberately avoided seeing anyone but Jhamed during his recovery from the events at Dishley. He was ashamed about that, but he was more ashamed about his actions there and what his friends thought about him.
Dawit spoke for both of them. “Simon, we understand. It is a huge burden to carry to be the Everlasting Hero. It is not one either of us would relish. But we would be there to help you carry it, as we carried you home from Dishley. We four have a special fellowship, five when Manfred returns. Just a few days ago, I could never have imagined calling an elf my friend.” He turned to Taran and slapped him on the back so that he almost fell over. “We are the last best hope for peace in FirstWorld and the wider multiverse. We all wish we could come with you on this task, but it is one you must shoulder alone. At least Manfred will be there. I often wondered what he was like as a young wizard. You must tell us when you get back. Good luck, my friend. Hurry home, we shall be waiting.”
Simon had tears in his eyes as he hugged the three of them. All he could manage to say was, “Thank you, I’ll see you soon.” I don’t deserve such good friends. He stepped up to the archway, glanced back at his friends, waved nonchalantly, and walked under the obsidian time portal. There was no flash, no bang, and no science fiction movie theatrics; one second he was there, the next he was gone. A pair of sneakers, two short white socks, a pair of torn jeans, a green tee shirt, and a well-used pair of blue jockey shorts remained behind.
Simon felt a wave of nausea hit him and each of his limbs was wracked with the worst pins and needles he had ever experienced. The world went dark and then extremely bright. He fell to his knees and tried not to pass out. He took a grip and focussed his eyes. It was a bright, cool day; already he was shivering because he was naked. Kin Slayer was indeed strapped to his side. He was in a small clearing in a forest. Through the trees, he could see a larger clearing where a small crowd of people were gathered around an old man who seemed to be performing magic tricks. Simon’s heart lifted. Manfred is here.
****
The three friends looked at each other. Jhamed finally spoke. “I wish that I could go with him. He’ll find Manfred as old and cantankerous then as he is now, except that he was a different sort of wizard back then. During our many years in exile he sometimes opened up to me about his past and his regrets. He feels guilty that he let down his mentor Bedwyr. He hated being away from the comforts of Melasurej and was in a great sulk because he’d been sent to a boring backwater with Mandred. From what he told me, the two of them didn’t get on at all. He always thought Mandred was out to make him look bad. He was there at the most momentous event in history but he was too bored and depressed to recognise it. However, it was what he learned there that eventually led us to searching for Simon Redhead. So it wasn’t all a dead loss and got us here in the end. He never said as much, but I get the impression that Manfred thought he should have been promoted to Bedwyr’s position after all the good work he had done to help defeat Gadiel. Being sent to a Stone Age backwater was not the sort of reward he had expected. I take it back, Simon will find him even crankier back then and would be well advised to follow today’s Manfred’s advice and give him a wide berth.” He walked through the archway, and just came out on the other side. He sighed. “I will set my quarters up here and arrange for my meals to be sent up. I want to be here when he returns. From Manfred’s hints, I suspect he will need our help again.”
“We’ll be ready,” Dawit said.
“I have a strange feeling that this has all been ordained,” Taran said. “Manfred has been used by someone to engineer the sundering. He had to be there to see Simon so that he could track him down in the future and send him back. He shouldn’t feel bad about it.”
“Don’t tell him that,” Jhamed laughed, “Unless you want to see steam coming from his ears.”
“I bet he could even do that,” Dawit said.
“Oh, yes!” Jhamed said. “But don’t tell him I told you.”