I struggle with the thoughts in my head as I sit here upon my return from those worthless caverns. A plethora of emotion threatens to overwhelm me. I do not know whether I should be relieved, or angered. Ecstatic, or devastated.
I came upon his corpse when I least expected it. Indeed, it was nearly my undoing, for I was in the midst of a battle like none I had faced to that point. A creature of such gargantuan size, and unbelievable power. It had backed me onto that accursed bridge, beams of energy threatening to melt the flesh from my bones. It was only through sheer force of will that I was able to summon forth a barrier from the power of the ember around me so I could retreat to safety. This being was beyond me. I would not win this fight today.
Then suddenly I was on the ground. Something I hadn't noticed when crossing towards the colossus seemed to appear out of nowhere. My heel slipped in something and a foul stench was released as I tumbled to my ass, sitting down hard and clicking my teeth against my tongue. Warmth and the foul taste of copper and iron flooded my mouth, then ran down my chin as I gagged on the odor of death. The giant creature of ember and stone stepped upon the bridge, a roar of triumph escaping it. It knew it had me now. I knew it had me now. I shut my eyes and prepared myself for my destiny.
Yet I was not to end here. Not this day.
From out of the darkness came a feral scream. Like a banshee of the deepest night it echoed through the caverns. Then I felt a rush of wind just over my head as a dark shape flew into the chest of that mighty beast, that was only moments from turning me into a smear on this stone walkway. I opened my eyes and stared in wonder, for I suddenly recognized the thing that had attacked the colossus. It was a creature I had found half-starving and wasting away from injury in the woods just beyond Torchlight. A cat of large size. It had growled at me, warning me away, but there was something about it. Something that had called to me. Disregarding any danger I may have been in, I had somehow managed to -- over the course of some days -- calm it, charm it and nurse it back to health. From then on, it would not leave my side. It frequently followed me into the caverns and sometimes helped me to sniff out things I may have missed. Until the other day, when it had been injured by a creature in the cavern just above the one I found myself in now, and I had left it in town for this journey to heal and recover.
Yet here it was. It's loyalty must have been too strong, and even in injury and pain it had followed me to this place. Now, just when all seemed lost, the gods smiled on me one last time.
Where it got the strength from, I do not know, yet there was a fury in that animal that surpassed anything I had ever seen. It attacked that giant like it was nothing but a tiny mouse. The colossus seemed confused, and stumbled back. A crack echoed into the gloom like cannon shot. I noticed then that the cat had forced the beast to the very edge of the bridge... It stumbled, but then regained its balance. It knocked the cat away, and then turned once more to me. Even with this new foe for it to worry about, it seemed it still had a mindless desire to see me perish. I tried to stumble on my feet once again, but the stone was slick with blood and the foul greasy ichor of whatever it was I had fallen on, and in. A fist the size of house began to descend even as I tried to scramble backward on my feet and hands, crablike.
Then, it was gone. The cat had come again. In one final superheroic leap it landed upon the head of the colossus, unbalancing it once more. This time the stone beneath its feet crumbled into the abyss below and with a noise like thunder they disappeared into that darkness. The beast and my savior.
For some long moments I sat there unable to accept what had just happened. I was alive. The cat. It had not been with me for long, so I had not realized how much it had meant to me until now. It was with a sudden tear in my heart that I realized just what had happened here now. I had lost another. Another being I had only begun to love. First Bastion, however false that love had been. Then my child, leaving him behind to come to this foul evil place! Now...
... my hand slipped again in the gore that coated the stone. (Another miracle in that the bridge only collapsed in one section, leaving the piece I was on intact, and connected to my way out of this place). I grimaced in disgust and finally glanced down to see what it was I was sitting on... and in. That was when shock hit me for a second time. For I found myself staring down into a face, that no matter how badly decomposed it was, was instantly recognizable. The rest of the body was mere tatters, dripping with decay, torn fabric slightly rippling in a breeze from the blackness below.
Bastion.
I cannot remember much after that. A sort of fugue took me then, and the next thing I remember was coming out of a strange dream-like fuzz in my room here in Torchlight. On my bed was a pack. His pack. On my desk was this journal, that first line already written.
So he is dead then.
Yes, he is dead. I have his journal and a few of his belongings from that sad corpse to prove it.
I should be furious. I should feel cheated for my revenge. Yet all I feel is an emptiness now. Like a hole has opened up in my very being. I have sat here for many hours, and I have decided on my fate. I shall venture into the deeps no more. Whatever power and riches lie below have no meaning to me. Whatever fate is waiting down there will have to wait for another. I only have one thought now. I shall send a message to the Nunnery I left so many months ago. A message to prepare for my return. A message that I am coming... for my son.
- Journal Entry of Karyna Arbalest
6 Years Later
The residents of the town of Torchlight watched as a bedraggled mare slowly cantered into the town square. Upon its back were two figures. One was tall and covered in a dark riding cloak, the color of a deep twilight. The other, sitting behind, was smaller perhaps a child. It too was draped in a cloak of burned crimson.
The horse whinnied as the rider pulled it to a stop in front of the local merchant. The rider looked around, features still hidden in the gloom of the hood it wore. Then, without a word, hands reached up to grasp the hood and pull it back from the head. A few of the older residents gasped. They knew that face. It sat in memories that were dusty and unused, but not forgotten. This woman had been here before. Many years before. She had not been welcome then (although the people that remembered her were suddenly confused as to why. In fact, that whole time seemed to be a haze to them), yet even despite their attempts at shutting her out she had stayed. Stayed and prowled the depths of the mountain. Threatening the thin peace they had begun to enjoy back then. Now, in the years since she had gone, the mountain had begun to once again grow ever more unstable. Once again creatures had begun to creep out of the passageways at night, stealing infants from their cradles, feasting upon livestock and pets, and growing increasingly more bold and destructive. It was all they could do to keep the creatures in check. The adventurers that had appeared in years past were no longer arriving in the numbers they had. The town guards were becoming overwhelmed. It seemed that there may be no hope.
And now SHE had returned. From out of nowhere and with no warning. The townspeople began to gather around, looks ranging from outright hatred to wary hope showing on their faces. What had she returned for? Was she here as a savior? (They knew she possessed incredible gifts). Or had she returned for a darker purpose?
The woman dismounted, and then helped the smaller figure from the mare. She looked on the townspeople with disinterest, took the small one by the hand, and began walking towards the healers. Without another glance, nor without removing the hood from the other's head, she disappeared inside.
The townspeople began to murmur amongst themselves. Who was that other? A child? Was he, or she, sick? Had she brought some kind of plague among them? There was no telling, then. With frustrated looks they began to break apart, to return to their homes and duties. They supposed only time would tell. In fact, they found out sooner than they would have wished.
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