M
20 years ago
Rugnar had spent long months hiding in barbarian lands near Norwick, waiting for the time to come back and find his brothers and put an end to his long journey.
At first, upon discovering the treacherous villany his brothers were responsible for, Rugnar had been overwhelmed by despair and confusion; his quest to reunite his family a charade. But amidst the fields of battle near Jiyyd, as he watched good men and women fall to the orcish incursions, Rugnar realized that he had a responsibility to these brave people, to not leave his evil kinsman prey amongst them.
They thought him dead, a corpse at the bottom of a river, so that was an advantage he would use against them. Over time, through bribes and threats, Rugnar has slowly uncovered the network of slavers that his brothers had secretly operated in and around Peltarch, learning their contacts, when they held auctions, and their vices.
It was a difficult task, almost beyond Rugnar's capabilities. He rarely ate or slept. His appearance became ragged and worn, and those that knew him found him hardely recognizable. The quest became his sustencance, the though of ending the pain his brothers lives caused, his rest.
Finally, the time to act came. Rugnar learned his brother Rognar was to spend a night gambling in the docks at Peltarch, and that his brother Ragnar was to be locked in his studies for the night, involved with some arcane ritual. Looking so much like him and dressed similarly, Rugnar managed to masquerade as his older brother and have the slaver's guards let him into the their camp.
Walking past the forlorn, huddled shapes of slaves chained around the camp, Rugnar was overcome and retched into a bush.
"Too much drink, " was what he said to the escorting guard.
At Ragnar's tent, he had the guards leave, and entered silently. There, praying near a dark alter, his long red hair unbraided and lying lossely about his head, was Rugnar's 2nd youngest sibling. Even upon seeing the vile sacrifice upon the alter, Rugnar could not help but love his brother. He stayed his axe for a moment, wishing for some other way to end this.
Ragnar was lost in prayer and was at the mercy of Rugnar, but Rognar was not, having returned early from an exceptionally unlucky streak of poker. Rognar immediatly learned of Rugnar's ruse and rushed to his brothers aid. As Rugnar raised his axe to smite Ragnar down, Rognar flew into the tent and slammed into Rugnar, knocking him into a table. Rognar grabbed Ragnar and shook him awake as Rugnar slowly recovered from the blow.
"You farking idiot! Wake up. That damn thing almost killed yah!"
Ragnar eyes focused and he looked upon the rising form of Rugnar in fear.
"We killed it .. we killed it.." he muttered as Rognar drew him back and took up an axe to battle Rugnar, but a look of desperation was on Rognar as well, for he was starting to believe that Rugnar could not be put down.
Rugnar looked at his two cowering brother's, a look of anxiety on his countenance.
"Why have ya done this! Why have yah set me against yah! This be evil and wrong, brothers. This is not how our father raised us."
"Our father?", said Rognar in disbelief.
A look of hope came to Ragnar's face. "It dosn't know!" he hissed.
Ragnar grabbed Rognar's arm and gave him a look to stand down. He knew what to do now. He knew how to end this.
"Just who do you think you are?" Ragnar said slowly.
"Why, I be your kinsman, Rugnar. Are ye blind? Has it been so long yah dont know me face?"
Rognar's face turned red, fueled by a deep anger. "You aint my bloody brother! You.. you black monster. You aint farking nothing!"
Rugnar's heart skipped at the words spoken. A cold chill started to creep down his spine as though he was immersed in lake of ice.
"I am Rugnar Stoneclaven… We be broth.."
"No, you are not. You are not our brother. You are not even a dwarf" Ragnar interupted.
Fear started to fill Rugnar, thought he could not understand why. he started to back-up. The tables had turned somehow, thought not a blow had been thrown. He didnt stop retreating until he was in the darkest shadows of the tent, as if to shield him.
"I be Rug.."
"No!"
The cold had spread now to his arms and legs. Rugnar dropped his weapon and fell to his knees. He couldnt think. The world was growing dark except for the words Ragnar spoke.
"Have you been following us.. all this time, thinking to stop us? Maybe you didnt even know what we did. Rognar.. maybe he came to save us."
A slight smile passed over Rognar's face.
"Aye, that would explain it. It following us where ever we went. Asking about like we were in danger. Damnations, what a bother!"
"I tried to save yah.. I thought you be slaves. So long.. so long", muttered Rugnar, his eyes unseeing now.
"Save us. Hah! You did chap.. but that was more than twenty years ago. You saved us money. You saved us time. Don't you remember what yah did?"
"I.. I fought the orcs… I protected the clan"
"Nay.. nay. You helped the orcs, you doomed the clan. Ragnar, you did too good a job with it. Took the lies ta heart, it did.".
Ragnar nodded. He looked about his tent, through the clutter of the recent scuffle, and spotted what he was looking for.
"Rugnar.. I'll call yah that .. you are my creation. I made you to help us fight those fools at Stoneclaven."
"No, I.."
"Do you remember your mother Rugnar? What is your mother's name eh? I never told you that. Do you remember your father ever talking to yah? No?"
"He was busy.. the war"
"He didnt know you. They found you near their camp.. where I put you. They brought yah back, like good dwarves, and you did your job."
Rognar readied his axe. Ragnar stopped him.
"No, I want it to know the truth. I want to see its pain"
"I made you. Remember. I pulled you out of the shadows, just a wisp, and gave yah this life to do my bidding."
Rugnar saw his father working the smiths, ignoring him. Rugnar saw his fellow dwarves walking by him. He tried to remember his mother, tried to see her face in his eyes, but could not. He remembered walking towards the main gate at night.. he.. NO! he was Rugnar!
"I know who I am. I know who I am!"
But he could see his hand releasing the chain to the gates, he could see the doors falling open and the red eyes or orcs filling the darkness beyond it.
Tears ran down his eyes as the memories of his clansman being slaughtered came back to him. The cries of despair as the the men, women, and children were killed or chained. He had done this. He had betrayed them. A pain like that he had never known filled his heart and he crumpled into a ball on the floor.
Ragnar stooped down over him and whispered in his ear, "You betrayed them. You did. Somehow.. someway.. you made yourself forget. You forgot what you were and what you did, and came after us. What were you going to do? Bring us back to a clan that has been dead twenty years?"
Rognar didnt like the way his brother was enjoying the misery of this thing before him. He was in this for the money, not the pain it caused others.
"Ragnar stop. This has gone on long enough. End it."
Ragnar looked up upon his brother, to contest his orders, but seeing his brother's resolve, sighed and stood back up.
"I thought we could rid ourselves of yah by killing yah, but I guess it wont be that easy"
Ragnar went to the corner of the tent and pulled out the mirror he looked for earlier and set it before Rugnar's prone shape.
"This is the way out shade. This is where you can find the peace you are looking for."
Rugnar looked up slowly at the mirror. He had never seen his face before.. somehow always avoiding his reflection. Now he looked upon it and saw himself. At first he saw an old dwarf, eyes wet with despair. But the face started to fade, and fill in with darkness.
"Look.. look deep and see yourself. This is what you are, this is where you belong"
Rugnar watched his shape in the mirror fade to nothing, and as it did so did he. He grew darker.. and darker, until he matched the shadows he had crawled in. His form became indistinguishable from the floor.
The brothers watched quietly.
With an odd ghostly sigh, the garments Rugnar wore fell to the ground, nothing being there to hold them.
Ragnar and Rognar felt the presence leave the tent.
"That was a dark business Rag. I never should have agreed."
Ragnar hissed back, "It got us what we wanted! You didnt complain about that, did yah. It was just a bit of your skin I took."
"I need a drink."
Rognar left the tent to search for something to drown the memory of this night. He never dealt with the slaves, and seeing that thing, a slave to its memories, a slave to the magic its creator had summoned, gave him questions he didnt want answers too.
Alone again, Ragnar set about to cleaning his tent.. but avoided the place where Rugnar once stood. Perhaps Rognar had been right. He shook his head and grabbed Rugnar's clothes impulsively and tossed them out of his tent.
