I found myself inside a long, cavernous throne room, supported by crooked columns of stone. The room was sparsely decorated, without the typical tapestries or banners usually found in a regal court. Actually, there was nothing regal about this place—it was grim, dark and suited its master well. On the far side of the room a dinner table was prepared at the foot of the stairs which led to Venator’s throne. The only source of light in the space came from a wide fiery pit of green flames set in the center of the aisle in front of me.
My first objective after infiltrating the room was to find a place to hide. The pillars that rose on either side of the main aisle provided the perfect cover. I managed to slip behind one unnoticed, crouching low so as not to be discovered. I listened and watched from the shadows.
“Take as much as you like. I can always make more.” Venator’s voice echoed off the stone walls.
“Mm...tanks! Iz jus dat I habn’t had da (Gulp!) proper nutrition since I got here.” Stretch! I was glad to hear his voice, but why did he sound so funny? Was he eating Venator’s food? What was he thinking?
“Did you know that the brain is made of more than 60% fat?” Stretch offered one of his usual “not-so-usual” facts.
Venator nodded politely and began to pour some drinks into golden goblets.
Stretch continued as he chewed his food, “This fish…trout is it?...chock-full of omega-3 fatty acids...which is important for a diet... Otherwise, your brain’s fat level gets too low...and then you get depression...poor memory...low IQ...”
Venator concluded, “And to one of such a superior intellect as yours, that would be a tragedy. A toast then to Fat Brains!” The momentary pause was broken by the sound of two cups clinking together.
Venator took the opportunity to steer the conversation while Stretch guzzled down his drink. “You know, it surprises me, Stretch, that one as gifted as you would ever be content to follow others...especially Hunter.”
Stretch slurped noisily, draining the last drop from his cup before asking, “What do you mean?”
“Well, not that Hunter is a bad kid, but let’s face it; he’s not you. You, my friend, can be reasonable in the face of adversity—unlike your feisty friend over there.” Venator turned behind him to direct his question to someone else. “What do you say, beautiful, are you ready to behave yourself and join us at the table now?”
The muffled female voice communicated its anger and defiance clearly enough, even though it was obviously gagged. Hope!
I needed to move closer to get a better view. Keeping to the shadows I darted from pillar to pillar until I was as close as I could be without blowing my cover.
“Oooh! I think she still needs a little more time to cool off. Perhaps you would care for some more trout, my friend?”
I could not see what Venator did, but the effect of his trick could be witnessed in a rising puff of smoke and the faint smell of freshly seared fish.
Stretch was clearly impressed. “Whoa! That is so cool. How do you do that?”
“I have great powers.”
“Because of the Bloodstone, right?”
Venator chuckled, “I’m impressed; you’ve done your homework.” He leaned in eagerly toward Stretch, as if revealing a secret. “But, what is more important is what my power allows me to do. I control my fate. What I want, I get.”
“Sounds nice.”
What? Come on, Stretch! Stand up to this jerk. I couldn’t believe he was falling for this garbage, but then he added, “But aren’t you supposed to be…you know…evil?”
There you go, Stretch! Nice one!
“Evil?” Venator sounded amused at the accusation. “Come now, Stretch. Use that amazing brain of yours to think for yourself. I contend that you only believe I’m evil because the Codebearers told you to believe that. Surely you can come up with your own opinion. Tell me, how did you come to enter my domain of Solandria?”
Stretch did his best to relate our experience. “Well, there was this guy, I think his name was Evan, and he gave us this book. Well, actually he just gave us a card to go get the book from a bookshop—only the book keeper actually turns out to be some big wig here in Solandria named Avi…”
“Yes, yes, yes...” Venator stopped Stretch before he could finish. “I know the old man you speak of. Let’s leave out the details, shall we?” He cleared his throat. “The point I am making is that you should consider your sources. You entered Solandria through this book given to you by the Codebearers. Am I right?”
“Right.”
“And the Codebearers are in complete opposition to my rule here.”
“Right…” Stretch sounded wary.
“So, it is only natural they would tell you I was their enemy.”
“Right…” Now Stretch was confused, “You mean you’re not their enemy?”
“Of course I am,” Venator quipped. “But the real question is, which side is the true enemy?”
Venator was working to make Stretch doubt the obvious truth, but Stretch was not biting. “Um…you’re the one wearing the skull mask.”
Go Stretch! Ha! His in-your-face remark almost made me laugh out loud.
Venator was not nearly as amused, but neither was he deterred. “Judging a book by its cover?” He clucked his tongue to reproach Stretch. “You discredit your intellect to be so shallow, my friend. Look deeper. Look at the facts. All you know of Solandria and the Shadow has come to you by way of the Codebearers. Does the word ‘propaganda’ mean anything to you?”
Ask Stretch a question like that and it’s like opening a walking, talking dictionary. Stretch did not disappoint. “Sure, propaganda means: information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement…”
“That’s enough definition,” Venator interrupted again. “Yes. Propaganda are ideas that are spread to ‘help or harm,’ as you so eloquently put it. So the question you owe it to yourself to ask is, are the Codebearers trying to help or harm?”
Let him have it again, Stretch!
Like he even needed to think about that…he had to have seen enough himself to know how much the Codebearers were trying to help us both fight against the Shadow.
Stretch began his argument, “Hunter believes they are trying to help…”
“Stop!” Venator sounded annoyed. “There you go again, insisting on following. Since when should a superior intellect follow the whims of a misguided friend?”
Misguided? If I had been facing Venator, I would have had a few choice words for his attack on me. Defend my honor, Stretch!
“You think Hunter is wrong?” Stretch asked in a surprised tone. That was not the show of confidence I was expecting from him.
“You answer that for yourself,” Venator said slyly. I was sure he must have been smiling at that small victory before he burrowed deeper asking, “What have the Codebearers asked you to do?”
“First we were to come to Solandria and then, well actually, come here to your fortress to recover the Bloodstone.”
Stretch! You just blurted out our mission! Great! There went any remaining element of surprise.
“Aha!” Venator was elated at his discovery of this information. It must have been what he was probing Stretch for all along. I expected now that he had gotten what he wanted, he would call his guards in and have Stretch and Hope hauled off to the dungeon with the rest. Instead, he continued the conversation further. “So, they capture you and then send you on their errands—clever. Did you ever wonder why?”
I was not sure what Venator’s motives were for postponing the trip to the dungeon, but for Stretch’s sake, I was glad for the delay. I needed more time to put a rescue plan into action.
“Well...” Stretch gave it some thought before answering. “Ultimately it was supposed to help me and Hunter get back home.”
“That’s what you want most of all, isn’t it?” Venator pressed. “Oh, but did anyone really promise to let you go back immediately after you did their bidding?”
“Well, not exactly right away. But we would be closer to…”
“No!” Venator’s interruption this time was his most impassioned yet. “There will always be another errand, another task, another job until you wake up one day to find that you have been reduced to nothing more than a slave.” He let the full effect of that last word sink in before asking, “Does enslavement sound ‘friendly’ to you?”
Stretch gulped, “No. No, it doesn’t.”
Did he really believe what he just said? Or was he just intimidated by Venator’s outburst?
Venator twisted the sharp blade of his false accusation deeper into Stretch’s mind. “Maybe these Codebearers are a bit more harmful than you first were led to believe, hmm?”
Stretch shifted uncomfortably in his seat and looked down at the floor. I could tell this argument was having the wrong effect on him. No Stretch! He’s lying! Don’t believe a word he’s saying! My friend’s struggle to cling to the truth added urgency to my need for a plan. How was I going to stop Venator and save Hope and Stretch without dying in the process? I dared to lean out a little further, straining to catch a glimpse of Hope. She was tied to a pillar on the opposite side of the room.
Venator had no intention of halting his assault on Stretch’s fragile beliefs. He had Stretch right were he wanted him and went for the kill, standing to give his next point more force. “Do you know why the Codebearers oppose my rule? Because I oppose theirs! They fear the power I have to rescue their recruited slaves, to set them free and send them home.”
At the mention of this, Stretch snapped his head up to look at Venator. “What did you say?” he asked with rapt attention.
“That’s right.” A devilish smile bent its way onto Venator’s face. “You can go home right now if you want to take my offer.”
“On what conditions?” Stretch asked cautiously.
“No conditions. I am different from the Codebearers, remember?” Venator reinforced his point, “My way home is easy. In fact, it’s as easy as walking through that door.” Venator stretched his staff out toward the green-flamed fire and I watched as it flared up to reveal the shape of a ghostly door.
“All you have to do is walk through that door and you’ll be home. You will forget this place and everything that has happened to you here. You can get on with your life…everything will be as it once was.”
I quickly glanced back from the glowing green door to Stretch. He was standing now, his eyes wide with wonder, feet methodically moving toward the door. I knew this was too great a temptation for him to bear and I wasn’t about to let my best friend walk into the enemy’s trap without putting up a fight. I had to do something.
“Yes!” Venator encouraged Stretch. “Go on! You’ll be home!”
Tearing the mask from my face, I stepped out from my hiding place and hurled the mask straight at Venator. My aim was true. The make-shift Frisbee struck his staff hand, causing him to fall to the floor in surprise.
“Stretch, no!” I yelled as I raced to his side and grabbed him by the shoulders.
He shook his head as if just awakening from a trance, “Hunter?”
“Don’t believe a word he’s saying!” I urged him as I forcefully backed him away from where Venator was scrambling to retrieve his staff.
Venator was laughing as he sneered at my disruption, “At last, the ever elusive Hunter Brown. I’m glad you finally decided to join us, although I expected you to arrive with an escort.”
Thinking back to Faldyn, I felt a bit of pride at my feats so far. “Yeah? Well, I gave him the day off. And you can consider this your last day too.” I pulled out my Veritas Sword to back up my threat.
Stretch looked horrified and wrestled my sword arm down as he pleaded, “No, Hunter! You’ve got it all wrong. If you just listen to him for a second…”
“I’ve heard enough of his lies already,” I snapped back, irritated at how far Stretch had let Venator lead him astray. Clearly, he could not be trusted to himself. “Get behind me, Stretch,” I commanded, “I’m getting us out of here.”
“No.” The way his response hit me, Stretch may as well have punched me in the gut. He let go of my arm and took a step back from me.
“I-I’m not following you this time, Hunter. This time I’m making a decision for myself.”
What was he talking about? We both came together and if I had anything to do with it, we would both leave together. “Don’t be stupid, Stretch! It’s a trap!”
I couldn’t believe what was happening. My own friend was pulling away from me, even as I tried to save him. The look of betrayal and hurt on Stretch’s face cut me to the core. I was speechless.
Venator, seizing the opportunity to drive the wedge in deeper, jumped in to coach his victim. “He thinks you’re stupid, Stretch. He doesn’t want you to make your own choice, even though you’re smarter. This is your chance to shine! Take the lead, Stretch; show Hunter the way home.”
I finally found words, but only to beg, “Stretch? Don’t leave!”
He looked away, shaking his head. When he finally looked back at me, his eyes were black and his face had a look of determination.
“I’ll see you back at home, Hunter,” said Stretch.
Without waiting he walked straight into the flames and through the final exit.
“Nooooo!” I screamed, running after him, but it was too late. He was gone.
I whipped around to face my enemy, hatred buring in my heart. “What did you do to him?”
Venator held up his hands innocently, “I let him go home where he belongs.”
“Bring him back!” I demanded angrily.
“What? And take away his free will? Never! He had a choice; this was what he wanted. Now he controls his own fate as is his right.” I could tell that this could not have pleased Venator more. He was relishing this moment.
Pointing my Veritas Sword at him I shouted, “Bring him back, or I swear, I’ll…I’ll…”
“What?” Venator mocked, “Kill me? I’d like to see you try.” He raised his staff to meet my challenge. “You do not realize who I am, what I’m capable of.”
My eyes narrowed in pure contempt. “I know all I need to know about you, Venator,” I seethed. Venator was the one who did not realize who I was. The prophecy was on my side. Vengeance would be mine. “It’s time you realize what I’m capable of.”
The time for talking had come to an end.