Anything But Death!

The Never Ending Quest - Episode 3723

Notch was hiding in the secret safe-room beneath the brewery, confused, frightened and alone. There was so much he did not understand but there was one thing he was certain of; Tarin-Gazin was going to kill him.

It all had seemed so simple just a few hours ago; send a few idiots off to jail and then confiscate their slaves. But when he went to the stables to get the slaves, Rift was there taking them for himself. But why? As far as Notch knew they were just two unfortunates caught by a bandit gang. But Rift wanted them so badly he actually stepped over the line and betrayed the founding principal of the BMC. He had attacked a fellow member.

Ransom. That was the only thing Notch could think of. The Paine Gang must have picked up two very important people and Rift somehow found out. When Notch showed up with his armed escort, Rift panicked and set Tarin on them. Now, the only way Rift would ever be able to escape a price on his head was to make sure Notch didn't live long enough to reach the Cult Masters and tell them what he had done. That left Notch with only one option, run like hell to the Palisade where the Cult Masters lived. Luckily, the Palisade was in the center of the city, not too far from where Notch hid.

With fear in his heart, he left the safety of the secret chamber and exited the rear of the brewery. He made it all the way to the end of the alley before Tarin pounced on him. The swish of the axe just barely missed his skull. Notch backpedalled only to trip and fall over a crate. He lay sprawled on the dirty ground of the alley and screeched for mercy when Tarin stepped over him with his bloody axe raised.

For the first time since this all began, Tarin spoke. "But I have to kill you, Notch. It's the only way to keep you quiet." Notch's mind raced for something to say, for something that would change the dwarf's mind. "You're wrong! If you let me live I will never breath a word of this to anyone! Do you want gold? I've got gold!" the lawyer hissed through trembling lips.

Tarin smiled coldly, "Never speak to me of gold, you stupid man. And I'm not wrong about this much, if I let you die you will never breath a word of this to anyone." Notch opened his lips to speak again but found that his mouth was suddenly very dry. And yet, the axe did not fall. Tarin looked down at him and seemed to be debating what to do next. The dwarf then asked, "Why did you come to the stables today?" Notch answered immediately, without any pause, "For the two slaves. A quick profit from the Auctioneers." Tarin knew he was telling the truth and the truth now changed the whole situation. The dwarf had been afraid that Notch had somehow learned about the dragon hoard. But that was obviously not the case. And that meant the dwarf had a little leeway in dealing with the situation.

"You are a lawyer, Master Notch, and lawyer is just a fancy word for liar. If I let you go, you would run straight for the Palisade. Nothing you could say would dissuade me of that. That is, unless you bind yourself to me in the name of Turoc-Kith. Swear on that dead wizard's unholy soul that you shall keep secret all that happened today and I will let you live. You could still betray me of course, but I wouldn't recommend it. Your spirit would be screaming in the fires of the pit long before the assassins of the Cult Masters ever found Rift and I. And the Curse of Turoc-Kith will find you no matter where you hide."

Notch's face turned an even whiter shade of pale. To enter into a Pact in the name of that vile wizard was an act of blasphemy in and of itself. But it seemed it was his only alternative to a quick death at the hands of the terrible dwarf. "B-but we would need to sign a contract a-and I don't have one," the lawyer smiled weakly. Tarin reached into his tunic and pulled out a black parchment. "But I do," he grinned. "Sign this and our Pact is done and the curse will be set in place. And I will let you live."

Notch closed his eyes and the breath seemed to drain from his body in one long, forlorn sigh. "Alright, I'll do it." And so Notch signed. Tarin helped him up to his feet and smiled warmly. "This could be the start of a beautiful friendship," the dwarf chuckled and then walked away. Notch only shook his head and not for the first time felt a terrible envy of Master Weylen Rift. There were few enough of the dwarven folk living in Walants and most of them worked for the big shots of the BMC. But Rift had Tarin. And now through the dwarf, Rift had Notch. He was well aware that that Pact had more than one line of fine print. But how did Rift ever get his hands on Tarin? What hold did he have over the dwarf?

Notch turned and made his way to the nearest tavern. Tonight he was going to get very, very drunk. Tarin on the other hand was heading back to Rift's house. The dwarf looked at the black Pact in his hand and smiled. He then placed it back into his tunic, slipping it right next to the one Rift had signed.

  1. The dwarf laughed merrily as he walked down the street.

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WolfRun

8/16/1999 12:21:58 AM

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