Oktober Teaser - Teil 4 (Reign of Terror)

[Ziv]

Auf http://microsoftgamesinsider.com/AC1/oct_teaser4.htm ist der letzte Teil abgedruckt fuer den Patch am Mittwoch. Es gibt auch 2 neue Screenshots...

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Elysa's face was pale. Her breathing was still shallow and her eyes had not opened since the attack. She lived, but no amount of magic would wake her from this cold sleep. Aun Hareltah had tried all he knew to wake the Queen, but still she lay, silent and cold. Antius brushed a stray lock of honey-colored hair from her brow and gently kissed her forehead.

"Come back to me, my love." He gently touched a hand to her cheek and smiled.

A week had passed since the assault. At night, Antius would stay by her side with Borelean, telling Elysa of the day's exploits. It mattered little if she heard them, they each needed to see her, and every once and again they swore they saw some recognition on her face. The boy was showing remarkable resilience and control by holding his sorrow within. Antius saw this as a blessing and a curse. The boy had attempted to find Asheron only once. It ended in failure as the spell to reach Asheron's Sanctum failed…as though the Sanctum were no longer there.

Everything was bleak. The festival season had come to Dereth, but there was little to celebrate. The Olthoi had been driven back from the majority of the countryside, but the earth still trembled and the Ancient Queen was still out there somewhere.

During the day, Antius joined Lord Kresovus, scouring the countryside with Balor. The assailant's scent had gone dry after the second day of searching, but Balor was as stubborn as his master. He insisted that he had found the trail time and again, only to lose it on the wind. Nuhmudira worked to find the would-be assassin through mystical means, while Celdiseth, Fadsahil and Ciandra tried to formulate some manner of cure. For the moment, Antius was forced to believe that Nuhmudira was truly not responsible for the assault, as this was fell magic that none of them understood. But his bones still grew chilled when she was about.

"I love you," he said as he took Elysa's hand into his. He looked to the fireplace and noticed the embers there, sparks popping from a small pocket of water in the wood. He saw life in that red glow, and he refused to let that fire die.

"Where are you, Asheron?" he asked of no one.

Antius' reverie was abruptly broken by the shuffle of leather boots moving hurriedly. The sound of metal-clad boots followed behind. The doors burst open as he turned toward the hall. His left hand still held Elysa's gently, but his right now gripped his sword hilt, relaxing only when he saw the intruders were Hendac and Jenavere. He let Elysa's hand drop back to her side and walked to them. Two royal guards stood behind the pair.

"Sorry Lord Antius, they pushed by us too quickly," one guard apologized.

"They are friends, and are welcome here," Antius replied. He dismissed the guards and brought Hendac and Jenavere into the room. Hendac made his way to Elysa's bedside and fell to one knee, while Jenavere took a rolled sheet of paper to the table near the balustrade.

"If she saw you doing that, Hendac, she'd cuss you and likely give you a swift kick." Antius managed a weak smile, and the mute man smiled in return as he glanced back and got to his feet.

"Antius, no time for talk. We've found her." Jenavere was pointing to the scroll, a crudely drawn map showing the borders of the Lost Wish Mountains. "We tracked a small encampment of Gotrok Lugians through the mountains. We were forced to slow our pace to match theirs, or risk being seen. After a day of no movement, Hendac and I followed the ridge here." She pointed to an area of the mountains that Antius barely recalled. "Along this ridge, we saw a marked increase in Renegade activity, but we also found something else." Antius glanced back to Hendac, who happily pointed at his nose.

"Hendac smelled it first—a hive, a big hive. We looked for the entrance and found only a pocket of acrid air that seeped from within the bowels of the earth, north of the mountains. We couldn't find a way in…but that is where she is roosting. I know it." She poked her finger at a spot on scroll.

"How deep?" Antius asked. Hendac sat in the chair beside Elysa's bed.

"Hard to say," Jenavere replied, looking at Antius' face. "How long has it been since you've slept?"

"Long enough. How many Olthoi?" Antius responded.

"Thousands, I'm sure of that. And she's breeding...quickly," Jenavere stated plainly.

Antius nodded and called for a guard. The door opened and a guard walked into the room. "Assemble the council. We have the location of the Queen's lair." The guard nodded and left the room.

"The council, Antius?" Jenavere protested. "They'll discuss this into the ground before anything is done, and then it will be too late."

"No, Jenavere. The council is very different now."

"Different? The only ones that were ever worth their lot were Elysa and Celdiseth. The rest be damned. Scholars and fools! Nuhmudira was one of the Zaikhal scholars that refused to provide us with the munitions necessary to crush the remaining Olthoi hives. We know how that ended. I'm sure you've heard about the colony of humans beneath the Catacombs where Elysa slew the first queen. They're not to be trusted," Jenavere continued.

"I don't trust them, Jenavere, but they're all we have…Nuhmudira included. Nuhmudira is arguably the most powerful of us. She very well might be our only hope. I wish I could convey to you how much it pains me to say that," Antius conceded blandly as he returned to the table. "We can't do this alone. We need all the help we can muster, and if that means that we need to deal with those we cannot trust to ensure the safety of this world and our way of life, so be it. I will not go back to a slave pit."

"Nor will I." Nuhmudira opened the door, flanked by a guard. "The others are coming post-haste. What news do you have for us, Antius?"

Jenavere looked to Hendac. He knelt and kissed Elysa's hand. Jenavere took a step toward Antius and whispered, "We'll be around, Antius…but we won't fight with her." She smiled and clasped the man in a brief embrace. Hendac approached Antius and clapped him on the back. Then the two pushed past Nuhmudira into the hallway.

Nuhmudira waited until they disappeared into the darkness and then asked, "What was that all about?"

"They found the Queen."