Guild Wars_ Ghosts of Ascalon - Matt Forbeck [117]
And there stood the last king of Ascalon.
Adelbern had been middle-aged when he’d died, but he seemed as fit and trim as any soldier half his age. He wore a suit of armor that Dougal suspected would have sparkled had it still been real and not some strange, ghostly abstraction. His head was bare, and his white hair fluttered in the wind that whipped through the crumbling battlements. His piercing eyes glared down at Dougal, and a snarl curled on his lips.
Adelbern raised his fist over his head and then swung it down to point a pale finger at Dougal. “How dare you trespass in my kingdom, thief ! ” the king said, his voice strong and full of fury. “For this, you shall pay the ultimate price!”
Dougal knew that if they fled, Adelbern would just send more ghosts after him, and their whole plan would be destroyed. He needed to play for time. He dropped to one knee and hoped that Savione’s story was true.
“No, Your Majesty!” Dougal said. “I am Ascalonian by heritage, and I have come to seek your blessing!”
This strange request took Adelbern back an instant, but his fury resurged. “The only thing of which I shall approve is your death!”
“But, Your Majesty,” he said, “I come here on behalf of your son, Prince Rurik!”
This blatant lie brought the ghost up short. He stammered for a moment, suddenly distracted. “Rurik? My son?” For a moment his face softened, but then it grew dark again. “Rurik is dead! To me, he died the moment he left Ascalon!”
“Your son is dead, as you are.” This voice came from atop the battlements. The king turned to see its source, and his face grew livid.
“Savione!” he said. “You worthless wretch! How dare you enter my presence without my bidding?”
“No, sire! These people are here to repair the damage that you’ve done! I won’t let you hurt them!”
“Stand aside and let me slay this foul beast now, Savione! In honor of your years of service, I will give you one last chance!”
“Years!” Savione threw up his hands. “Try centuries! You killed me, and you still consider me to be in your service! Well, no more!”
The courtier stared at his king and spoke in short, cold phrases. “I renounce my position in your court. There’s nothing more you can take from me, Adelbern. You cannot hurt me.”
“So you think!” Adelbern reached forward and pulled the ghostly dagger from the courtier’s chest. Then the mad king stepped forward and swung his blade at Savione. The ghostly servant did not move to avoid the blow, and the blade sliced through him, cutting him cleanly in two.
Dougal waited for Savione to re-form like the ghosts that Ember had battled in the cave near the Dragonbrand. Instead, the two halves of Savione separated from each other and slid apart. His legs fell one way while his chest fell another.
Before he faded away entirely, Savione said one last word, his voice brimming with grim relief: “Finally.” Then he disappeared, flowing away into the breeze atop the battlements like a half-remembered dream.
Adelbern turned away from the vanished shards of his former servant but found the staircase empty. Riona and Dougal were already lost among the shadowed buildings below.
Behind them, the human pair heard Adelbern’s cry of frustration over the rooftops.
“I think we got under his skin,” said Riona, hugging a wall.
“You think Savione is really gone?” asked Dougal.
Riona shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t think it matters what happens to Savione, Ember, or Kranxx. What matters is we find the Claw of the Khan-Ur.”
Dougal grimaced at her, then craned his neck to get a better look at the top of the tower again. “All right,” he said. “You’re right. I know you’re right, but I don’t have to like it. Let’s move.”
Dougal sprinted through the town as fast as he could. Riona lagged behind just a bit, but he could hear her behind him every step of the way. Soon they reached the main square, and Dougal skidded to a halt.
The carnage sprawled out before him stole his breath. From one side of