Laria
The riches of Xulthar!
Fear gripped Laria’s heart at Roderick’s words. All throughout the chamber, the gold and gems gleamed with unholy light, and though she was utterly unaffected by the temptation they presented, from the lust in Roderick’s eyes she saw that he would swiftly succumb.
“The riches of Xulthar!” Roderick shouted with glee as he plunged into the midst of them. Gold and silver coins spilled from their chests like water as he overturned them, heedless of anything but the boundless wealth.
With horror and fascination, Laria watched as Roderick’s form began to shift before her eyes. His skin stretched tight and began to turn scaly, his eyes shifting from blue to a gleaming, fiery red. She knew that Xulthar’s sorcery was transforming him into some sort of monster, but still she remained rooted to the spot, unable to tear her eyes away from the grotesque spectacle.
As Roderick let out a deep, guttural growl, she suddenly broke free from her trancelike state, crying out in terror:
“Roderick!”
He stopped abruptly and turned to face her. In the moment his eyes met hers, his transformation reversed. Laria blinked in disbelief as he stood before her as the man she’d always known. Had she only imagined him turning into a scaly beast?
“I’m sorry, Laria,” he said like a sheepish schoolboy. “I don’t know what came over me.”
She slipped her arm in his and pressed her other hand against his chest. “Whatever it was, let’s not do it again.”
“Aye,” said Roderick, though his gaze lingered hungrily on the riches spread out before him. “But Laria, I saw something in those treasures. Something so powerful that I cannot…”
As his voice trailed off, Laria’s heart began to pound with fear. This was the very room she had seen in vision while trapped within the Void—the very source of Xulthar’s dark and deadly power. The Dark King had sought to wield it, but in the end he had been its slave. And now, it sought desperately to corrupt and enslave another, tempting Roderick with its specious lies.
“Let’s get out of here,” she gently urged him. “Don’t you know that these riches are cursed?”
But Roderick said nothing. He stood like a statue, transfixed by the sight of so much wealth.
“Roderick!” she cried, her gentleness giving way to desperation. “Did you hear me? Please—we need to leave!”
“In a moment,” he muttered, but his voice sounded more like a growl. Laria watched in dismay as his eyes began to shift again, turning slowly from blue to red before glazing over entirely. The air was suddenly thick with the scent of age and decay, as if the riches themselves were full of evil rot. Laria stepped closer, pressing her body against his, but he seemed utterly lost in that moment, something lurking darkly at the back of his mind.
“Roderick,” she whispered. “It’s time.”
He stirred again at the sound of her voice, giving her hope that he would yet break free of his feverish obsession. She pressed herself closer, the feel of her body warm against his, but it was not enough.
Why had the lust for the treasure not affected her? Why did she seem immune to their temptation? For the same reason the Dark King had sought her for a sacrifice: that in all her life as a slave, she had never owned money or possessions of her own. Those same qualities now made her impervious to the dark and wondrous power of Xulthar’s riches. But Roderick was different. Though driven primarily by honor, he had never been far from power and wealth, and was thus not truly free of the fallen city’s curse.
Laria knew that she had to act. She couldn’t bear to leave Roderick under Xulthar’s evil sway, nor stand by and do nothing as the sorcery enslaved him as it had enslaved the Dark King before.
“Roderick!” she shouted, pulling on his arm yet again. “Don’t let the riches of Xulthar tempt you!”
But Roderick planted his feet and refused to move.
“Let me go,” he growled, in a furious tone of voice that she had never heard from him before.
“Roderick! Please, listen to me!”
He blinked as if coming out of a trance, but could not tear his eyes from the riches that surrounded them. He glanced from her to the treasure and back again, clearly torn between two paths—and hers was not the one he favored.
Roderick
Roderick was dimly aware of Laria’s efforts to pull him away, but the riches of Xulthar were so magnificent that he could not cease staring at them in awe. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that so much wealth could exist in this plague-ridden world, let alone in a single place. When he stared at the jewels and gemstones, the chests of gold and silver, and the heaps of priceless artifacts, he saw not only an abundance of wealth, but all that could be accomplished with it as well. In the hands of a righteous king, these riches could reshape the world!
He blinked and realized that Laria was shaking him by the shoulders, tears streaming down her delicate cheeks. The sight of her anguish brought him back to the present, if only for a few fleeting moments.
“Roderick,” she urgently pleaded with him. “You must reject this riches, Roderick. You must not fall prey to their temptation.”
“But Laria,” he said, brushing away tears from her lovely face. “Think of all the good I could do with them.”
“No! Don’t you understand? You think you would do good, but in reality, the riches would only consume you!”
“Are you sure of that, Laria? Think of all the slaves that I could buy, and set free.”
She shook her head vigorously. “Even if you did that, you would only make yourself a slave to all this treasure and wealth. Have you forgotten that the riches of Xulthar are cursed? Have you forgotten what the Dark King said about your father?”
“Leave my father out of this!” Roderick snapped. “It was he who brought dishonor upon our family—he who brought disgrace upon our house. But with this wealth, I can restore what was taken from us and—”
“Listen to yourself, Roderick. Is this what you truly came for? Do you truly feel that way toward your father?”
The riches of Xulthar gleamed in the flickering light. Roderick tried to think, but all his thoughts were consumed by the mesmerizing sight before him. As he stared at the gleaming gold and silver, it seemed to promise him power beyond his wildest dreams. Power such as the sovereigns of Xulthar had once possessed. Power such as that which the Dark King had sought to wield.
“Roderick!”
Something about Laria’s plea resonated with him. As much as he loathed to admit it, hers was the voice of reason, urging him to resist the temptation of this cursed gold. He turned to face her once more.
“What do you want me to do?” he asked.
Laria stepped in close and took both of his hands in her own. “Come with me, Roderick. Abandon this cursed treasure and leave Xulthar behind. We can start anew, away from all this corruption.”
Roderick hesitated. He knew that Laria’s words held true, but his hunger for power and wealth still warred within him. The conflict between his conscience and his ambition left him feeling uncertain and torn.
“Roderick—when I was bound to the black altar for the Dark King’s sacrifice, I saw the true source of the power behind Xulthar’s curse.”
“Yes, yes,” he said impatiently. “But I have already smashed the Heart of—”
“The Heart of Xulthar was not the true source. And as terrible as the Dark King was, he was still no more than a slave to it. Please, Roderick—you must believe me!”
Roderick scowled. He did not want to just walk away from this treasure that he had won, but Laria’s words had a ring of truth to them that he couldn’t simply ignore. He knew that he could not hesitate between two options for much longer.
“What did you see in your vision, Laria?” he asked, fearing that he already knew the answer. “What is the true source of the power that you saw?”
“These riches,” she said firmly. “They are cursed, Roderick—tainted with the blood of the innocent, and the crushed hopes and dreams of honest men. Can you feel it? This wealth has a mind of its own, and it means to make all the world bow before it. It means to enslave us all!”
“Are you sure, Laria?”
“Yes! Oh yes! You must believe me, Roderick—you must!”
Roderick frowned and looked upon the gleaming treasure with new eyes. Perhaps his motives for seeking the riches of Xulthar had always been less than pure. Perhaps, deep down, greed had always played a part in his dreams. Somehow, he had convinced himself that he was making a noble sacrifice. But Laria was right—the riches of Xulthar would never restore his family’s honor. That, too, had always been a lie.
He met Laria’s gaze, his heart suddenly pounding in his chest. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words seemed to catch in his throat. After a long silence, he finally found his voice and said:
“I refuse these riches.”
The effect was spectacular. The treasure vanished in an instant, as if it had all been a mirage. The ground rumbled and shook, and the walls of the temple began to groan and crumble. The stench of rot and decay filled the air as a hole opened up in the chamber that had once held Xulthar’s famous treasure.
“We have to go!” Roderick yelled. Cracks began to spread across the ceiling above them, and he knew they had only moments before the temple began to cave in.
“Run!”
Roderick and Laria tore through the hall, their hearts racing and their eyes wide with panic. They barely escaped being crushed beneath the falling pillars and great slabs of marble and granite. As they entered the domed chamber where Roderick had slain the Dark King, a chasm opened beneath the black altar and stretched from wall to wall.
“Roderick!” Laria screamed, but there was no time to stop and judge the gap. Without thinking, he squeezed her hand and sprinted full force toward the edge.
Together, they leapt just as the altar fell into the abyss, but the moment they landed, the ledge beneath their feet began to crumble. Behind him, Laria stumbled and fell—alone, she would never make it. With a mighty roar, Roderick flung her forward, then fell to his knees as the floor gave out beneath him.
Thinking quickly, Laria turned and dropped to her stomach, reaching out her hand. He grabbed it just before the abyss swallowed him, and with his other hand, he grasped the ledge. Dust and stone fell all around him, but exerting all his strength, he pulled himself over the edge.
“This way!” Laria shouted. The main entrance was just ahead now, though they had only moments before the temple became their tomb. With no time to rest, Roderick stumbled after her, his lungs burning and his muscles crying out in pain.
They burst through the doors not a moment too soon, barely escaping the temple’s final collapse. But outside, it was no safer. A whirlwind of sand and dust blasted their faces, and fissures were opening across the ruined square. The tremors were not limited to the temple itself—indeed, it seemed the whole earth was eager to swallow the ruined city.
Laria fell as the steps shook beneath them, and Roderick stumbled as he helped her to her feet. Together, they barely managed to make the square. Then the ground heaved up beneath them, and they both fell to their knees again.
“It’s no use!” he shouted, blinded momentarily by the burning wind. “We’re too late!”
“No!” Laria urged him onward. “We can make it! Don’t give up now!”
If Roderick had been alone, perhaps he would have surrendered to his fate. But with Laria depending on him, he found a reserve of strength he didn’t know he had. He held her hand as they sprinted across the square. Somehow, they evaded the worst of the fissures, leaping over the smaller ones as they ran through the blinding sand. They stumbled and fell several times, but kept on running, as all around them the world itself seemed to be coming to an end.
Laria
The cobblestones rippled and broke beneath Laria’s feet as she ran with Roderick to the end of the avenue. All around them, the city’s great stone structures collapsed, throwing up clouds of dust and sand. She stumbled, but Roderick pulled her back to her feet.
They heard the braying of the camel before they saw it. The rope still bound it to the court of the caravanserai, and the beast had become frantic.
“Up!” Roderick shouted, grabbing the camel’s neck and forcing it to its knees.
Laria did not need to be told twice. She climbed atop its hump, ignoring its thrashing struggles and panicked cries. Roderick sat in front of her, and with a single stroke of his sword he slashed the rope that held the animal bound. Within moments, they were galloping away.
“Yah!” shouted Roderick, shaking the reins. Laria held on for dear life, and would have been thrown off if she had not managed to grab the camel’s hair. Roderick reached out to steady her, gripping the flesh of her arm with his calloused hand.
They reached the gate of the city wall just as it began to collapse. The keystone of the enormous arch cracked down the center just as they galloped beneath it, and the crash of so much stone striking the earth made the camel stumble unsteadily. But somehow, they made it through.
“Yah!” shouted Roderick, urging the camel on. The ruins were safely behind them now, but the billowing dust and sand still surrounded them. Only after they had climbed the bluff outside the city were they finally able to see the sky.
They stopped at the top of the ridge and peered down at the destruction. Whatever dark sorcery had possessed the city before, what was left was naught but rubble. As the whirlwind died and the dust began to settle, the once impressive ruins appeared as little more than sand-strewn heaps.
“It is done,” Roderick said with a heavy heart.
Laria turned and saw the awful sadness in his eyes. “What is done?” she asked, tilting her head.
“All the hope I ever had of restoring my family’s house and honor,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “The Dark King is slain and the curse has been lifted, but all else I hoped to accomplish has come to naught.”
Laria’s heart ached for Roderick. She could empathize with the pain of losing all that he had ever known. Until she had embraced her freedom, she’d felt that pain herself. Gently, she placed a hand on his shoulder.
“It may be done, but it is not the end. Not for me, not for you—and not for us.”
After some time, he glanced over at her. “Aye,” he said softly. “Even if I have lost everything, at least we still have each other.”
They rode on in companionable silence, leaving the ruined city behind. Laria wrapped her arms around his waist, and felt a warm flutter in her chest as she held onto him. They were so much more than mere traveling companions now: the struggles and trials they had faced together had forged a singular bond. And as the sun began to set over the vast and lonely desert, Laria realized that she wanted nothing more than to share her life with him. Yes, she was a free woman now, and Roderick was no longer her master, but as such she could freely give herself to whomever she would—and there was no one she wanted to spend her life with more than the man who was with her now.
As night began to fall and the stars shone down in the sky, they stopped beneath a rocky outcropping to make their camp. First, they spread the rug out on the soft and level sand, and then they unloaded the saddlebags with their supplies. But before Roderick raised the tentpoles, Laria put a hand on his arm.
“I want to sleep under the stars tonight,” she told him.
He stared at her for a moment, then nodded and put them back. As the moon rose wide on the horizon, she felt a sudden surge of desire well up within her. Without another word, she wrapped her arms around Roderick’s neck and softly pressed her lips against his, feeling a wonderful rush as they kissed.
Roderick was stunned at first, but soon responded with equal passion. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. Laria’s heart raced as his fingers slipped beneath her makeshift tunic, and she couldn’t help but moan in anticipation as the silk slid off her skin. The heady sensation of his strong hands upon her body sent shivers of pleasure down her spine, and she knew in that moment that she was completely his.
“Laria,” he murmured her name softly, his breath a soothing breeze upon her bare neck. His recently healed wounds were still tender, and she carefully helped him out of his sweaty clothes. Then, with eager longing, they gave in to their pent-up passion.
As their bodies intertwined, Laria noticed that Roderick was weeping. She tenderly cupped his face in her hands, her heart reaching out to him more than ever before.
“Oh, Roderick,” she whispered, and in that moment, they fully surrendered to each other. There was no inch of her body that was not his—no corner of his innermost soul that was closed to her. Their focus was not themselves, but each other, each of them striving to give to the other more than they took in return. Thus their tender lovemaking became a healing balm, and in the end, they both shed tears of joy.
For a long time, they lost themselves in each other, forgetting the world around them. Nothing else mattered except the embrace of their bodies and the newfound love that they now shared.
The moon was nearly at its zenith by the time they finished. The camel had gone to sleep, and there was not another soul in sight—only the barren mountains and the endless sea of dunes.
Roderick murmured quietly, running his fingers through her hair. “Laria,” he whispered, “You are my strength, and my life. Together, there is nothing we cannot face.”
“So long as we are free.”
She tilted her head back, and they kissed tenderly again as Roderick gently rubbed her neck. He let her down softly onto the blanket and gazed into her starry eyes.
“I never realized this until I met you, Laria, but your love has shown me that it is possible to find happiness even in the midst of our greatest struggles. Together, we can create our own paradise, no matter the times we live in. And we will. That much, I can promise you.”
He reached for the bundle of clothes at their feet and withdrew a silver locket. She leaned into him to peer at it, her breasts brushing up against his arm.
“Do you recognize this?” he asked.
She took it from his hand and studied it in the moonlight. “Yes,” she answered. “It’s the locket I found at the oasis, after you saved me from the slaver.”
He nodded and took it back. “A few days before we met, I encountered an undine nymph on the borders of the deep desert. She tried to steal a kiss from me, but I gave her this instead.”
He opened the locket and withdrew a small tuft of hair.
“This lock is from my mother. I have carried it with me everywhere, Laria—there has never been a mission or an adventure where I have not kept it close to my heart.”
She nodded reverently, then watched as he drew his dagger and cut the knot that bound it together. He then held up his hand, letting it scatter in the wind.
Laria gasped. “What have you done?”
“It is time for me to let go of my old family,” he said as he gave her a smile. “Time to let go of restoring my house’s wealth and honor. I will never be able to recover what has been lost. I dearly love my mother, but it is time to focus on our new family instead.”
“Our family?” Laria asked, her heart pounding eagerly.
“Yes,” he told her, gently cupping his hand beneath her chin. “The family that we will have together. The family that we have started here, tonight.”
Tears came to Laria’s eyes as she gazed up at her beloved Roderick. As a slave, she had never dared to dream of having a family of her own. How could she, when even her own body did not belong to herself? But now, here she was with the man she loved, and who cherished her deeply in return.
She moved closer to Roderick, laying her head on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. She could feel his strong and steady heartbeat, the rhythm of it merging with the beating of her own.
Roderick ran his fingers through her hair again, and when he came to the end, he gently lifted the dagger and cut a short length of it. He handed it to her, and with tears of joy streaming down her cheeks, she wrapped it around her slender fingers and made it into a lock.
“I will be yours, forever,” he promised her as he placed it carefully inside the locket. “Will you be mine, Laria?”
“Yes,” she solemnly promised. “I will be yours, forever.”
The stars shimmered in the cool night breeze, and the warmth of their bodies seemed to radiate outward like a small oasis of love, hope, and peace. Whatever else was true, Laria knew that this was only the beginning of something truly wonderful.
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