Roger stroked his beard and sat down heavily on the good chair. "Make us a cup of tea Smith, there''s a good fella,''" he said to the newest recruit in the palace guards. "I''m knackered with all this running round." He loosened the belt around his plentiful midriff and slid his sword off.

    "Why should I always be the one to make the tea?" complained Cedric, a tall skinny youth who seemed to be all arms and legs.

    "Because you''re the newest," said Sergeant Brown from his seat near the fire. "It''s the way of the world lad. Three sugars in mine please."

    The two older troopers chuckled to themselves, as did the other members of Squad C in the rest room. Cedric scowled, but set about putting some water into the giant metal kettle. He was just about finished when a ragged figure burst into the room, throwing the door open with a crash and making Roger jump.

    The newcomer was in a guard''s uniform. Roger didn''t recognize him, but that wasn''t surprising with all the extras drafted in for the celebrations. The fellow looked in bad shape though, with pale skin and battered armour His helmet was jammed down about his ears, with the visor lowered.

    "Come quick!" gasped the man. "A wizard''s gone mad in the dungeons! Harold wants him stopped right now!"

    "Oh bloody hell!" said Roger, grabbing his sword and standing upright. "Come on lads! Move it, move it!" As the others scrambled about, he turned to the guard. "Lead on then! Hurry!" he commanded.

    The guard nodded and staggered off back the way he came. Squad C followed, with young Cedric bringing up the rear, still clutching the kettle.

    ~ * ~

    "I don''t see why we should have to clear the rubble," Jones complained. "I''m a guard dammit, not a digger." He heaved at a large piece of stone and threw it to one side, nearly hitting one of his fellow soldiers.

    "You heard the King," said his colleague, Rupert, pulling at a piece of wood. "If you want to argue with King Harold be my guest. Just leave me your gold bracelet before you go. Here, help me move this will you?"

    Jones sighed and stepped over to help his friend. Together the two guards grunted, pulling the shattered remains of one of the giant chandeliers to one side.

    They were part of a small force sifting through the wreckage of the ballroom. Jones was sweating in his leather armour, and paused to wipe his brow. He''d taken his helmet off and stacked it to one side, despite the risk of falling stone. At least the city''s tough, knee high boots protected his feet from the shards of glass that protruded at intermittent intervals, and the slight breeze coming through the gaping hole in the wall helped to cool him a little.

    "No one could have survived this," he said, looking around at the devastation that had been the king''s party.

    There was a shout from the other side of the wrecked room, and he looked up to see a pile of rock move. A small wobble at first, then a stone slid aside, followed by another and another. Finally the mound quivered and exploded like a mini-volcano, sending dust billowing forth. Slowly it settled, to reveal a thin figure standing amongst the debris. His clothes hung about him in tatters, dark red wounds visible through the rents. One of his arms was missing, the bone stump protruding grotesquely from the socket, still bloody. In the other hand was a large black sword.

    "I''m back!" said the figure, grinning madly. "Did you miss me?"

    "Oh fug, that''s him!" said Rupert, pulling at his weapon as the other guards did the same. Several of the closer ones moved forward in a rush.

    "I guess you did." Dreth smiled. He swung his black sword in a wide arc, and three of the soldiers screamed at the same time. Two fell to the floor, whilst the other one staggered backwards, sobbing as he tried to stop his intestines from falling out through the gash in his abdomen.

    Pirouetting gracefully forward, Dreth dodged several thrusts from troopers as they moved in around him. The blade moved in a blur, and there was a flash of red. Another man stopped in his tracks. Slowly his head toppled to one side, bouncing off the floor. Blood fountained from his neck for a second, before the body followed it down.

    Dreth hadn''t remained still. Another soldier screamed and looked in shock at the stump where his hand used to be. An instant later he crumpled as the dark sword pierced his ?h?st, protruding ?bs??n?ly from his back a moment before it was withdrawn.

    Laughter filled the hall as Dreth whirled amongst the hapless guards, hacking off limbs and cutting open bodies, rending and slicing as he moved through them like an unstoppable killing machine.

    "Bugger this!" Jones said, as he watched Rupert move in for the attack. "There''s no way I''m going up against him!"

    He glanced around and dived into a shallow hole in the rubble nearby. Lying low in the shelter, he peered through a space in the bricks, just in time to see Rupert pierced through the abdomen by the black blade. His friend stood paralysed as, giggling madly all the while, Dreth ripped the sword upwards in a vicious jerk, tearing the soldier in two from the waist up in a shower of bone and muscle. Rupert remained standing for a moment, the two halves of his upper body peeled apart as his innards slid out onto the floor in a cascade of blood and gore. Then he collapsed, reduced to nothing more than a pile of fresh meat.

    The thin man lowered his sword and looked at the remains of the soldier. "He just fell apart on me," he said.

    Holding his breath, Jones watched as the Dreth glanced about, and then, stalking past his hiding place, left the room.

    He breathed a sigh of relief and rested his head on the ground, trembling with terror at his near escape.

    "You thought I''d missed you, didn''t you?" came a sudden low voice next to his ear.

    "Surprise!"

    Everything went black.

    ~ * ~

    "You''re wasting your time you know," said Tybalt, shifting about on the hard cell floor. "Dreth isn''t going to come after us."

    "He''ll come," said Harvey. "I can feel the power of the black blade he wields. It''s close, very close." He closed his eyes and cast his senses forth, searching for the emanations the devil sword radiated on the ethereal plane. Almost immediately he winced, as psychic echoes reverberated around his skull. Something had recently expended a massive amount of power. The stupid anti-paladin had probably tried to use his weapon against Dreth''s. That would explain the shouting and distant rumbles earlier anyway.

    "Really, he doesn''t care about us one bit," Tybalt continued. "If you knew Dreth you''d know this. Why do you want him anyway?"

    "I don''t care about Dreth, it''s the woman I want. She holds the key to great power."

    "Emerald? You want Emerald? What power does she possess?" Frumble asked. He was laying on one of the prison cells'' hard benches.

    Harvey smiled. "She is the chosen vessel for one other. One of great energy. Usually this being would be far beyond my reach, but if I have the woman I can set a trap. It''s vulnerable for one short moment as it takes her body. In that moment I shall strike! Take the power for myself. With it, nothing will be able to stand in my path! I shall smite all who oppose my will, and soon I shall rule! I shall be master of all! Mwahahahaa!" Harvey threw his head back and laughed in evil glee.

    Tybalt sighed. "I never understood people wanting to rule the world," he said. "It seems more trouble than it''s worth."

    "Pah! You''re a small man with small dreams." Harvey sneered. "I''ve given up more than you could imagine to pursue my goal. Yes, it has cost me much to be here." He mulled over his loss. The throne had kept him alive, immortal, and had held a great deal of his magic. When he''d struck a bargain to be free of it, he''d forsaken his never ending life, and much of that stored power too. Yet he was still a master wizard. The sacrifice would ultimately be worth it.

    "Well, Dreth may be close, but Emerald would never be foolish enough to come here," said Tybalt.

    Harvey opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a figure with black and white striped hair stepping around the corner into the prison entrance.

    "Oh," Emerald said.

    "You!" said Harvey.

    "Emerald, run!" shouted Tybalt at the same time.

    Harvey snapped out a Word, and a ball of blue fire appeared in his hand. He threw it at the woman, but she dived back out of the doorway, avoiding the magical bolt.

    "I thought you wanted her alive!" screamed Tybalt.

    "It''s a stun blast," said Frumble.

    Harvey didn''t hear any more of their exchange. He conjured another stunner and ran after his target, who was fleeing down the passage.

    He had her now!