38Prologue: The First
It had all happened so suddenly, and now he was running for his life.
Tandred fled up the stairs, casting aside his broken sword to speed his progress. Perhaps his pursuer would trip over it and break his neck. The rot which possessed all the weapons of the Sword Coast these days had taken its toll. Now it had shattered when he needed it most. His armor alone had saved him from death, for a time at least.
He thought not of any escape, nor what he would do when he got away, for the arm of his pursuer was long. All that mattered was getting as far away from him as possible. His lungs were burning; his wounds hurt him more than ever. His every fiber ached from his exertions, yet he forced himself onward. Fighting that thing...
His party, Alaka, Myrolf, Torus, all three of them had been killed. Experienced mercenaries ripped to shreds in mere moments by that monster.
It killed like a god.
Then the stairs ended. He was at the heights of the tower. He was trapped! And his enemy was following behind! He heard the footfalls of heavy armor scaling up the stairs. Then he saw something which he had missed before. A door, locked or unlocked it was his only hope. Perhaps he might find a staircase down leading away. He was tired; perhaps he could rest, if only for a moment. Glancing down the stairs, he saw his enemy's shadow cast against the wall of the stair.
Fear came over Tandred. He was here! He was coming closer, merely walking! As though nothing Tandred could do could save him. Even now, he felt his heart beating horribly, and cold sweat was dripping from his brow. It was the door or nothing.
Tandred gripped the latch and was terrified that it would be locked. Yet it was not. It turned, and he stumbled through the door, before closing it behind him and locking it. Stumbling forward he fell to his knees, gasping for breath.
No, he had only a moment. He had to get out of here. He stood and looked around for a way of escape. Cold terror came over him. There was no way off this terrace, ringed with iron, save the door in which he had come in. Perhaps he could leap down to some lower ledge. Rushing to the side, he gazed down.
All around him he could see the great city which days ago he had been so eager to see for the first time. Now he would be lucky to reach the streets alive. No balcony lay below the ring of iron; no stair led down toward the street. He was on the highest balcony of the tower, and he was alone, weaponless without hope.
There was no way off.
He was going to die here like the others.
Tandred caught his breath. He tried to force himself into control. He had to get ahold of himself. He'd learned too much he had to reveal. If he didn't get out, the source of the troubles plaguing the Sword Coast might never be revealed.
If he could just get to Scar with what he'd learned...
Perhaps he could scale over the edge of the balcony and climb down. It was a long shot but-
The door received a blow and broke apart to splinters. Over Tandred loomed a shadow as black and terrible as the deepest pits of the abyss. Tandred turned around and looked up in terror at the figure above him. The being could hardly be called human. Its laughter echoed with unknowable malice. There was no mercy in those eyes, only merciless cruelty and sick amusement.
Tandred backed away. Stall for time and try to dodge past him. If he could slip past he could go down the way he'd come. 'No… you can't…'
'I will be the last.' said the armored figure, pointing at him with a cruel smile. 'And you will go first.'
'Please, no!' gasped Tandred. 'There are others! I can lead you to them!'
He made a spring for it, but his enemy was too quick. An armored fist struck him in the face, and he was thrown against the wall. Tandred groped for a dagger but missed it.
The armored figure grabbed him by the throat and raised him up before smashing him through the metal. Tandred felt something crack as he was dangled far over the city far below. Beating as the hand that gripped him, he felt his throat being crushed.
There was a crack, and everything began to go dark.
Tandred felt himself falling down from the tower. As he did he reflected that this would help. When he turned out dead outside the Iron Throne's Headquarters it might draw attention.
A shame he hadn't-
Serevok watched the body hit the flagstones far below and smiled at the sight of the blood. It would attract attention. Not enough to halt his plans, but enough to set things in motion. He didn't want any loose ends in his ascension.
Turning away from the broken metal wall, he walked down the steps. Father would want a report now. Both of them.
For the moment, the first of them had been killed. It was a start. The next would be further south, in the great library of Candlekeep.
Every murder helped, after all.
Author's Note:
So I have a rule that I post one chapter of a fanfic a day. Unfortunately, I found myself completely without inspiration today. When I looked through some of my old files, I found a novelization of the intro to Baldurs Gate.
I actually have written a bit more of this. So tell me if you enjoy this.
I tried to make Tandred an actual character in his brief screentime. You tell me whether it succeeded.
