Kullen the Shaman

He doubted a criminal would let them use theirs. Joslie anticipated the question. "Resk is large, there are plenty of unused vaults."

While running, Kullen pressed the issue. "Vaults that have not been searched?"

Many treasure seekers search out the vaults to obtain the remaining treasure in the vaults. He had seen none of them twice.

A snarl from behind them made Kullen's worries moot. Kullen followed her to the vault.

The streets were free of people. They must have sensed the danger and returned to their homes. Long-time residents of Resk knew when a foul hound would come and how to avoid them. A beggar had offered advice to him of the beasts but he ignored her, thinking she planned to scam a new resident. Curse it, how he regretted that choice.

Joslie stopped. "We are here, Kullen."

So they were. The vault was an imposing keep cornered with abandoned guard towers. A gray moss covered the stones that after centuries were still smooth.

Joslie had calmly walked up to the arched gates and opened them. The vault had no locking mechanism. Kullen would remain wary of other traps.

Not nearly as calmly as Joslie, he rushed into the vault and she closed the doors behind him with an ease that belied her form.

He let out a relieved breath and put a hand to his straining heart. Safe. Finally...for now.

#

***

If the outside of the vault imposed, the inside intimidated. Statues of brawny men with a gallery of weaponry lined the golden walls. Those walls were etched with large runes. The runes were of the same design as his staff but Kullen knew not their meaning.

Though Kullen could guess. The magic that just before had filled him with vigor parted from his body and as if a large stone rolled into a small stream, Kullen felt his access blocked.

Joslie walked on tired feet over to a couch and rested herself on it. He joined her. "Return the money you stole." She turned to him, confused. "I thought they were chasing me for my use of magic but if that were true, they would have ignored you and focused on me. No amount of money is worth your life."

"It is not money I stole." She pressed her soft body against his side and rested her blond head on his shoulder. "What I took belonged to me and I will not-cannot-return it."

Remembering the hungry mouths of the hounds and their eager coal eyes, Kullen grabbed her slender shoulders firmly. "If you do not, I will die." He then added. "We will die."

Joslie slipped from his grasp, used to getting away from rough hands on her. "I cannot. To do so would be the death of me and many others."

His mind churned for a way to convince her to give up her stolen goods. He searched for a lie to convince her returning what she stole would not endanger her or anyone else's life. He found nothing.

Joslie paid him no mind. Her green eyes were straining at something in the vault's corner.

Did the hounds get inside! "What is it? What do you see?"

"A person or the shape of one. But nobody is there." She rose from the couch, leaving its soft cushioning. "Hello," Joslie called out, heading toward the shadows of the vault.

"What are you doing? Stay with me!"

She continued toward the beckoning shadow. Kullen strained his eyes to see what she did. He strained until his eyes watered. Still, all he saw were the moving shadows.

Shadows? Neither he nor Joslie held a torch, only the lightly glowing runes of the vault shared light with their eyes. The runes glowed when magic was used. But Kullen used no magic.

Shade! "Joslie! Return to me!"

Too late, the shade had made its move, hurling itself from the corner and toward Joslie.

Shades, the ghosts of the people of Resk. Their figures a translucent black. They called from the darkness to lonely residents of Resk, inviting them to join their forever night slumber.

With a bravery not his own, Kullen went after her. More shades came, their black ghostly figures circling him like a pack of mountain wolves.

"Begone shades!" Kullen swung his staff as it belonged to a priestess who could banish such creatures.

The shades retreated, for his staff was the grim gift of a priestess and its runes put the light of fear in them. The shades were dead, not dumb.

Joslie, meanwhile, continued her steps toward the shade. Waving his staff, he reached her, pulled her by the arm and spun her around to look into her eyes. Those green eyes, usually bright, had dimmed. She had the look of those smoking Jungle weed.

Kullen's touch or the nearness of his staff had a healing effect because Joslie eyes lighted and her awareness returned. She bobbed her blond hair around the room, taking stock of their predicament. "Again, you save me."

This time she was right, and he did not know why he had gone after her. Kullen held no feelings for the wench other than lust and frustration for her unwillingness to give up and run.

The shades gave him little time to ponder. They had surrounded them.

Joslie took his hand in hers. "Come." She tugged him away from the shadows as he waved his staff at them.

Flight, an action Kullen supported. They ran up carpeted stairs, passed doors chained shut, and ended up in one of the guard towers.

"Why have you brought us here?"

"We were not alone, but the shades came for us. This is no vault. It is a prison."

"I thought you knew this vault?"

"I was misinformed. What a man tells a girl when filled with ale is also filled with half-truths."

Kullen cursed. "That doesn't answer my question."

"If this is a prison, then it is one for shades and creatures of the like. If I am right, then the shades will fail to follow us here."

"Because the guards' rooms would have protection."

The shades hovered to the border of the entrance but went no further. If such creatures could scream out their frustrations, they would.

The guards' room also had runes of a different pattern etched on the walls of stone. They glowed when the shades hurled their incorporeal presence against the invisible barrier keeping them separated from their prey.

Kullen slumped. Joslie remained on her feet. "We must banish these shades."

Tired, Kullen replied. "Must we?"

"If not, we will starve in here. I saw no food running down those halls."

He sighed. Neither did he.

From an unseen pocket, Joslie took out a small bright red stone. She bent to him and placed it in his hands.

Kullen curled his fingers around it, accepting it. "Is this what they are after?"

"It is a heartstone. It stores magic."

"Useful, but hardly worth the trouble." Though foul hounds weren't known for their pickiness.

"Use this and banish the shades." Joslie grabbed him by the shoulders as firmly as Kullen had hers when he pressed her to return the stolen goods.

Somehow, through the power of the warding runes, magic returned to him. The stone blocking the stream wore down under the onslaught of magic. Oh, how Kullen hated the love he had for such power.

That love, or hate, would save him.

His legs no longer shook, the ache abandoning him as the guards had abandoned this old tower. He hit his staff to the cold stone, and the shades pulled back. They had no face, no lips, or eyes from which to judge their fear. Kullen could sense that fear, regardless.

Kullen was familiar with fear. It was with him always, a shadow companion.

Maybe it was the power or the gentle touch of Joslie's hand still on his shoulder. Whatever It was, confidence graced him, matching his bursting power.

"Begone, shades!" Kullen demanded in a deep bellow.

The runes of his staff flared and light spewed from the tip of the staff to dismiss the night creatures. There was the sound of fire being quenched, a sizzle, a final ghostly gasp of unlife, then nothing.

***

Joslie caught Kullen as he collapsed. The third time using such powerful magic took its toll on every inch of his flesh and bone. She cradled his head and smoothed his hair, whispering words of comfort. It worked. All he wanted was to doze off in her arms.

The world had other ideas.

"Come out, wench! And that other magic user as well. Let us talk." The voice came from outside the vault.

Joslie left him to call down to the male voice. "Never, you evil creature of a man! You will not take me and Kullen will not let you!"

Why did she say his name? Now this evil creature of a man she spoke to knew how to find him. With great effort, Kullen stood again, aided by his staff that he lent on for support.

"I can summon more shades. Can this Kullen summon more strength? Hmm, maybe he can, but can he use it without killing himself?" The man changed his tone from mocking to conciliatory. "Kullen, how long have you known this girl? Do you wish to die for her, Kullen?"

Kullen did not. He did not want to bleed for her, or run for her, or hide for her. Yet he had already done so.

Joslie answered for him again. "He will not die. He will kill you. For he is a greater wizard than you will ever be. Kullen is a shaman."

Kullen finally gathered himself enough to speak. "Joslie, there is no need to tell him everything about me."

Her green eyes widened. "Oh but of course. You must keep your magic a secret weapon."

Kullen let the misunderstanding slide. He joined her to see the man who threatened them.

Below stood a man with foul hounds gathered about him. His youth long having left him, he had a long, knurled face that matched his voice. The robes he wore were trimmed with purple and gold.

Wizards were not an uncommon sight in the city of Resk. They came for the magical tools to pursue whatever experiments they planned or to find a weapon to wield against their many enemies. The wizards preferred to deal through their servants for their own safety or sheer laziness.

For such a man to come to retrieve the heartstone in person, Joslie held a powerful item indeed. She must have lied to Kullen of its properties. No wizard would go so far for a simple tool that only stored a larger than usual amount of magic.

Kullen felt the power from the stone. It never ended. Three times that stone filled him to bursting: at the tavern, Joslie's home, and in the vault. The heartstone, though small, had the ability to hold vast amounts of magic. That explained the wizard's desire.

Kullen needed an escape. "Joslie, he is right. I cannot let magic use me like that again. It will shatter my bones and tear at my flesh."

"Then what do we do Kullen? There is nowhere to run."

"We face him. Try to negotiate a compromise."

"No such compromise can be had with Wesix."

"Wesix, is that his name? I have never heard of him."

"Even were you not new to Resk, you would not have heard of him. He keeps to himself and his grim experiments in the Tower of Shades."

Kullen almost lost his balance from the shock. "It is he who calls that place home."

Joslie's eyes narrowed and body shook. "Home, dungeon, palace, prison. It is whatever he needs of it."

The Tower of Shades. The one place in Resk everyone knew the shades would gather. None dared live close to the haunted tower. Only in shadowed whispers did people speak of an occupant.

Stomach bottoming out, Kullen knew his chances against such a wizard were nonexistent. Joslie could disagree all she wished, it didn't stop the need to find a way out of their predicament, his predicament.

Kullen acquired a convenient lie. "While we negotiate, we can find some sort of weakness, an opening to exploit."

"You are right, Kullen. We cannot stay in the vault, but I worry he will not speak with us and attack."

"He may very well do so. We will have to bluff." Kullen called down to Wesix. "Both of us will come treaty with you, Wizard Wesix. But know this, even if it cost me my flesh and bones, I will loose what magic I have against you and your foul hounds and take your precious life if you cross us."

The wizard furrowed his brows, that is, if he had any. "So be it, Shaman Kullen. Come let us treat."

Joslie still looked worried. She shook and clasped his hand for comfort. Fear lined her face in a way not seen when facing hounds and shades. It only proved Kullen's point. The wizard shouldn't be fought.

Making their way out of the vault's arched gates, again opening with a simple touch from Joslie, they met the wizard.

Kullen spoke first, wanting to take the initiative and give the appearance of bravery. "Why does a wizard such as yourself waste his night chasing a simple wench and her trinket?"

"She is no simple trinket, Shaman. That heart holds more power than you can imagine. Power needed for my experiments."

The lithe form of Joslie stepped in front of Kullen to wave her little fists defiantly. "You will never succeed in your wicked goals. Wretch, evil, soulless..."

Wrapping his arms around Joslie, Kullen held her back. She writhed in his grasp, her creative curses continuing. They were here to negotiate, not to insult.

Wesix paid her no mind. The foul hounds at his feet took more insult than he. They snarled and spit forth their own barked curses, unintelligible but understandable. The hounds promised a mauling.

Still ignoring Joslie, Wesix quirked his bald head. "I have never met a shaman. How is it that you use magic? I found my hounds killed or wounded in the oddest of manners."

"I will tell you what I tell everyone else. I do not use magic. Magic uses me."

"Ah! I see. You have no control over it. You let it run wild and use it on instinct."

"Anyone who thinks they control magic is mistaken."

"Oh? This comes from decades of experience I presume." Wesix spoke with a tone of mocking.

"No, unlike you, my hair is not tipped with gray, my skin still protects my youth. I only speak of what I know. Magic is destruction, a breaking of the world's rules."

The wizard seemed upset and interested. It was then Kullen realized his remarks on hair to a bald man may be taken as an insult. He pretended not to notice.

"In that, we are in agreement. Magic does break things. A great many things need breaking if one's desires are to manifest. Don't you have desires, Kullen?"

"Many, but none that I will share with you this night."

Kullen indeed desired much. He desired a home, safety, respect, a harem of women that desired him as well. And a backbone.

Joslie had more of that than Kullen. She had desisted her struggles and rested on his chest. He still held her in his arms firmly.

Wesix noticed. "Is it the wench you desire? Unfortunately, I need her. There are many others in this city. Many more easily controlled, with a bit of coin that is." He took out a pouch that chimed heavily with coin and threw it to Kullen.

Kullen caught it, releasing Joslie to do it. Wesix moved with a speed that didn't match his apparent age and snatched Joslie.

Before Kullen could take her back, the hounds formed a semi-circle around him. Joslie was in the arms of the Wesix, struggling much like she had in Kullen's own arms. Her fear prevented her from cursing but she fixed him with eyes that begged for rescue.

The pouch was heavy in his hand. Kullen came to Resk after a long, hard journey of scaling mountains and traversing dangerous forests. With the money sitting in his hand, Kullen could have all he desired. He was a quick study and knew money bought everything in these foreign lands.

Those with money had comfortable homes. They were feared by all and had servants acting as their harems. He came here not to dash through the night from hounds, shades, and wizard. He came for safety.

All Kullen had to do was let Wesix take the wench. All Wesix really wanted was the heartstone. Even if Kullen refused, he had not the stamina to let magic back into his body.

Joslie stopped her feeble struggles against the wizard. She'd seen it in his eyes. His acceptance of Wesix's deal.

Unable to meet that familiar disappointment, Kullen shifted his gaze...to the coin.

He continued to do so until the foulness of the hounds left his senses. When he looked back up, Wesix, the foul hounds, and Joslie were gone.

***

Kullen had done right, if not by Joslie, then by himself. Resk was a dangerous place. A city of criminals. Joslie should not have relied on him. She roped him into a violent mess. He was not responsible for her. The only reason she entered a sexual liaison with him was to have him protect her. They didn't even finish that.

Kullen repeated this to himself all the way back to the tavern. The men were gone and the owner, a stately man of middle years, was washing away the blood, ale, and other unspeakable messes on the tavern floor.

Kullen took a seat at a table not broken or dirty. "Drink."

The owner stopped his cleaning to serve his paying customer. Before Kullen knew it, he was peering into a full mug of ale. Then another mug of ale. Several drinks and a clouded mind later, Kullen stretched out in the chair like a slob.

The owner had finished cleaning and looked at him with sad eyes. "Bad night?" Kullen's gaze told him everything. "I see. Too bad. Joslie really liked you. Surprise she didn't go through with it and give you a fun night."

"I don't even know her."

"Well, she knows you. She's watched you since you started coming here."

That only proved to Kullen that she intended to use him from the start. Well, he got the better of the deal in the end.

The owner felt comfortable enough to leave his counter and sit beside Kullen, and for some reason still cleaning the mug. "She came here running from a wizard. A not uncommon tale. When she saw you, it pleased her to see a good man in a city like Resk."

"A good man? How did she get that idea?"

"You never harass the wenches and stayed out of fights."

Kullen was a coward. That is why he stayed out of fights. "That's because I'm a coward." Ale had loosened his lips and forced him to speak the truth.

"So, you can't use magic?"

Kullen forwent telling him magic used him, growing tired of saying it. "I can."

"Then you could defeat every man that has come to this tavern."

"...I could."

"But you don't. That speaks of incredible restraint. The things I would do to these wretches if I could..." The owner of the tavern trailed off, muttering dark imaginings.

Kullen took another the drink, only half paying attention as the man spoke, until something stabbed through his wallowing drunkenness. "Wait, what did you say?"

"She finally worked up the nerve to ask you out tonight. Joslie used the brawl as an excuse."

"Joslie didn't plan it?"

"Plan what?"

Everything came together. The surge of magic, her opening of the vault, the wizard's insistence on having her. Joslie was the heartstone. Her closeness to him provided the power, and it was how she sensed his magic.

At any time, she could have approached him to offer power for protection but she never did. Yes, his use of magic together with her attracted the foul hounds but she could have made her escape while the hounds chased him. Her purpose in bringing him to bed was not only to thank him but to make sure the hounds didn't rend the flesh of an innocent.

Joslie protected him.

And Kullen left her to the hounds.

The tavern owner had taken his mug to clean it but stared at him with worry. "What's wrong?"

"Me." Kullen got up, stumbling. "I made a terrible mistake. I have to go."

The owner's eyes narrowed. "Why isn't Joslie with you again?" Kullen couldn't meet the man's eyes. "Take this." He put a balled-up grassy substance in Kullen's hands. "Chew it and it will perk you right up."

"Is this...jungle weed?"

"If you are going after the wizard, you can't do so drunk."

Kullen nodded, chewed then swallowed the weed and waited. Soon his body perked up as the owner said. The feeling resembled magic down to the feeling of his body being possessed.

Thanking the owner, Kullen rushed into the night and to the Tower of Shades.