Guild Wars_ Ghosts of Ascalon - Matt Forbeck [48]
“To her credit, Scorchrazor accepted the surrender, but only so that the charr would not be stripped of the power of the Flame Legion, which had more shamans than all of the other legions combined. Even without gods behind it—perhaps especially—magic has its uses.
“The imperator of the Flame Legion was so shamed by his surrender that when he finally met Scorchrazor, he stabbed her with a poisoned dagger. Charr may do anything to win a battle, but only the worst cowards would violate a surrender so. His treachery cost Scorchrazor her life, but her last words were ‘At least I die knowing my sisters are free.’ ”
“Which is why you had such a strong reaction against wearing chains,” said Riona.
Ember pressed her lips together so hard, they paled. Then she polished off the rest of the liquor in her glass in a single swallow.
“What happened to the assassin?” asked Killeen, her hand still covering her mouth in disbelief. “Did he get away with it?”
Ember shook her head. “Imperator Ironstrike himself throated the coward on the spot. The Flame Legion imperator went to his reward before Scorchrazor did.”
“And tomorrow,” said Dougal, “we’re off to find the weapon that an early Flame Legion imperator dropped during the Foefire, years before that.”
Ember nodded. “We seek the Claw to bring peace between your people and mine. For the sake of my people, I will wear your chains—but I will think of Kalla Scorchrazor every moment they restrain me.”
She rallied for a moment, and her face grew sharp and feral once more. “My orders are to complete this mission by any means necessary, and I will do just that. Know, however, that if any of you get in my way—if you become more of a hindrance than a help—I will not hesitate to strike you down on the spot and leave you to die.”
With that, she spun on her heel and left.
Riona rolled her eyes, then slumped in her chair with a hand on her forehead. Dougal reached again for the wine. Killeen smiled with delight as the servants brought in a chilled custard for their dessert.
The sylvari raised her glass of wine. “An inspirational beginning. We may not be a guild, or a warband, or a krewe, or even a family. But we are a company, adventurers gathered together to a single purpose. For the moment, that is enough. I drink to our success!”
Dougal felt warm and full as he returned to his room. He checked behind the door as he entered and made sure that the night shutters on the window were secure, on the off chance that Gyda had any more irate relatives lurking about. Determining that all was clear, he sat down on the bed and thought about his new companions.
All of them were more determined than he was. Riona seemed dedicated to the Vigil cause. The charr crusader was going to follow her orders to the letter. And Killeen would not be dissuaded from visiting a city filled with ghosts.
The problem, thought Dougal, was that none of them had any idea of what lay waiting for them in Ascalon City. He had been there, at horrendous cost. They didn’t seem too interested in listening to his warnings here in the safety of Lion’s Arch; would they listen to him when they were surrounded by the howling masses of spirits?
Dougal leaned back and looked at the ceiling, and the next thing he knew there was a loud thumping on the door. He blinked himself awake and noticed that the room’s single oil lamp was still lit and no light peeked through the night shutters. He could not have been asleep more than two hours.
Staggering to the door, he found the hylek, Naugatl, standing there, his wide amphibian orbs equally bleary. “Gather your things,” the hylek said. “You are leaving.”
Dougal stared at the creature, who repeated his message, then waddled down the hall. The creature thumped on the next door and was greeted by a feminine curse.
Realizing that Riona was just as irritated as he was, Dougal almost