A Spiritual Interlude
By Copoc Kitzam (David Nickerson)
My dreams haunted me and I could not sleep. Premonitions of death will do that to you sometimes. I gazed at the constellations filling the sky and realized that the stars were aligned and that the seven stars that made up Gondoc’s Greatclub would soon reach their apex.
Hours upon hours I had spent in deep trance, conversing with Kanul Yat Balam and various other entities, gleaning what sparse information I could concerning the history of Gondoc and his legendary manifestations. Of course he was responsible for defeating the Black King and dispersing our evil brethren long before he entered the Spirit World, but I learned that indeed he had since aided shamans, decisively turning the tide in several epic battles. Unfortunately, he had gone mysteriously dormant and had thus remained for millennia. It would be possible, however, to awaken this ancient hero, if the stars were properly aligned and a new evil was gathering.
I was convinced that what I saw now was no coincidence; the time for summoning Gondoc had finally arrived, even though we had just fallen back into sleep after dealing with the slavers. I hadn’t known Gudlaug for long and had just met Kuldar, but one cannot argue with the sky. The summoning had to take place that very night!
The ritual required a trip to the Spirit World and a show of faith from those wishing to benefit from Gondoc’s prowess. To gain his favor, one had to relinquish something held dear. I studied my great club as it shimmered, anxious and bristling with the fury of Yax Che Mal. I could not believe that Gondoc, master of battle, would strip his devotees of their very means to wage war. It would be a show of faith and nothing more. I just had to convince my comrades. Also, as is the case in all kulkan warrior rituals, a substantial amount of blood would be expected. This I would supply myself, and not push my luck with the others.
Fortunately it was Malcolm’s watch. I would speak with him first because I had known him the longest and we shared similar seafaring backgrounds. He had earned my trust and I felt that he trusted me as well. Also, considering his recent reincarnation, I imagined that it would be relatively easy to convince him that we needed more brute force to ward off attacks...even from gigantic stone gnomes.
“Malcolm,” I hissed as I approached the vigilant adventurer, “I am plagued with dreams of carnage. We are soon to enter a veritable meat grinder, powered by black kulkans and yuan-ti and a host of other demonic horrors. We cannot go this alone.”
“Do your…ahh…spirits tell you this?” inquired Malcolm.
“Yes. But one need not consult the wise ones to see that this is true.” I paused for emphasis. “I can now summon a great kulkan warrior and harness his fighting magics to aid us in our quest, but I will need your assistance. And I will need the others as well.”
“What would you have us do?”
“Simply trust in the spirits. Trust in me Malcolm. Lend me your Greataxe.” I explained what the ritual would entail.
I shook Gudlaug, all the while being eyed suspiciously by Hal. Malcolm stood nearby
“Gudlaug, wake up.”
“Mmmmm-wait, Bambi. Come back,” he muttered sleepily.
“Gudlaug,” I continued shaking him, “It’s me. Copoc”
Startled, Gudlaug bolted upright. “Copoc, what’s going on? What the heck are you doing? Is it my watch already?”
“Copoc has had a vision,” answered Malcolm.
Gudlaug looked at Malcolm, obviously annoyed to be yanked from his dream. “I was having a vision too,” he replied, “but you don’t see me bouncing around the camp spreading the joy.”
“Gudlaug, we offer our sincerest apologies, but Gondoc’s Greatclub has reached its apex and I need your assistance,” I tried to explain as Gudlaug rubbed his eyes.
“Gondoc’s Greatclub?! Listen, I like you and all, but…?”
I related my visions to Gudlaug, my premonitions of certain death if we did not increase our party’s strength. Then I described how we might accomplish this feat. Although he was initially reluctant to hand over his warhammer, he could sense my apprehension and seemed relieved to know that the Godoc’s Greatclub” I refered to was a pattern of stars in the sky. Gudlaug knew that matters could get deadly serious very soon and after mentally sizing up our party he agreed to help. Next would come the hard part.
Gudlaug, Malcolm, and I stood over Kuldar, repeatedly shouting his name. He had taken first watch, and apparently ended it by consuming his body weight in dwarven ale. A dekkalfar’s unquenchable thirst was well known even to kulkans, but I was truly amazed by this particular dwarf’s capacity to drink – though he was equally skilled with goblet and axe.
“Wake up Kuldar, we are in deadly danger!”
This apparently did the trick, as Kuldar sprang to his feet, axe in one hand and empty goblet in the other. He looked around wildly, seeking to locate a suitable target.
“…or soon will be,” I added.
Kuldar glared at me as he moved to refill his goblet. “What nonsense is this? I see no danger! No fiend of the night begging to be cleaved?”
“Kuldar, I have had a vision of our demise. In order to augment our forces and prevent this from occurring I intend to summon the spirit of Gondoc, the greatest kulkan warrior to ever crack the egg, friend to shamans of old and destroyer of the Black Nest. I need your cooperation and I would ask to borrow your axe for a short ritual.” I tried to smile.
Kuldar took an immense swig from his goblet and seemed rather disappointed that he’d spilled the contents in his sleep. “Are you insane lizard? No one touches my axe!”
Gudlaug chose to intervene at this moment and somehow seemed to calm his dekkalfar brother “Kuldar, I haven’t known this shaman for long and I have little understanding of his Spirit World, but he is true to his word and I have found his intentions to be noble. Time and again he has called upon these spirits and, well, something happens almost every other time. I believe that his ritual may prove helpful to us.”
Malcolm stepped up to support me as well. “I trust Copoc, Kuldar, a trust scored through months of fighting side by side, enduring hardships together, almost dying and dying. If he says that this spirit can aid our cause then I for one believe him. And he has assured me that no harm will come to our cherished weapons.”
“Is this true lizard?” demanded Kuldar.
“Yesssss,” I said, silently attempting to run through the ritual in my mind. I had gathered only bits and pieces, and these summonings were always tricky, but I was confident that the weapons would remain unharmed. After all, Gondoc was renowned for his appreciation of fine arms as well as his strength in battle. He was proficient with nearly everything and was always eager to try a new weapon type. He was then just as eager to prove that this new weapon was no match for claws and teeth. His collection of weaponry, however, was legendary itself, and I could not imagine that he would damage any piece in a non-combat situation
“Very well,” Kuldar grumbled, “but if I find one scratch on that axe, or one dent that was not made by the bones of one of my more robust enemies, then I’m the one that’s gonna be crackin’ some eggs!”
“Fair enough,” I replied gazing skyward once more, Let us begin the ritual.”
I gathered our weapons, Malcolm’s greataxe, Gudlaug’s warhammer, Kuldar’s axe, and my greatclub and arranged them in a runic configuration, an ancient kulkan symbol representing the path of the warrior. I then covered them with copious amounts of skink liver oil and dusted them with bone powder.
Kuldar did not seem entirely pleased.
I then began preparing my mind to enter the Spirit World. My eyes were closed and I began to chant, imploring the great Kanul Yat Balam to lend us his power. I felt for my jaguar’s paw, my claw blade, clam shell, and crocodile’s tooth. I arranged my necklace of woven swamp grass and caressed the serrated claw also hanging from my neck. I did not wish to offend anyone upon entering the Spirit World. Once confident that I had not misplaced a single vial or packet, carving, or any other talisman that anchored one of my spirit allies, I clasped the wrists of Gudlaug and Malcolm and instructed them to take hold of Kuldar.
“We are about to enter the Spirit World,” I said, “Stay close or risk tumbling back into the material world. I cannot say where you might arrive if this happens!”
“What did he say?” shouted Kuldar, “I never agreed to any plane hopping!”
I was chanting in earnest at this point and the incantation was soon completed.
I opened my eyes. I never ceased to be amazed by the beauty of the Spirit World. Although structurally similar to our own material plane, all the colors were brighter and more alive, as if springing from a new palette, expanded and limitless in their clarity and hue. Entirely new and amazing shades cascaded over our senses. I immediately observed that my runic symbol had risen and was levitating at our center. A bluish orange green flame encircled the weapons, sparking and hissing sporadically I looked at my comrades. No longer spiritblind, they gasped like newborns, as if someone had removed a blindfold and they were seeing for the first time. Malcolm was startled suddenly by a swarm of scarlet and indigo hummingbirds and nearly leapt beyond my grasp.
“Stay within my reach,” I reminded them.
As the birds dispersed Kanul Yat Balam was revealed in all his glory. He appeared as a tall and weathered kulkan with piercing eyes, wise beyond comprehension. He wore a huge feathered mane, multi colored and extremely difficult to focus on. His leather harness was studded with silver and gold and he carried an impressive greatclub embedded with scintillating gems and square, obsidian blades.
“Greetings Copoc’s allies, noble denizens of the material world. I see that you have chosen to aid my good shaman in his latest summoning. You have presented fine weapons, all. Gondoc reveres such instruments above all else.” The voice came at once from everywhere and nowhere.
“Are you here to help as well?” queried Gudlaug, able to speak at last
“Alas, no,” replied the voice. Kanul Yat Balam’s eyes appeared to gaze through us into some other reality. “It is indeed unfortunate, but I can only observe in matters such as these. I have assisted Copoc to the utmost of my ability. Now it is up to you.”
Other entities had gathered around our most unusual exhibit and were keen to observe my comrades and me. I recognized only a fraction of the spirits present and did not know if they were offering support or merely curious. Regardless, time was passing and I needed to complete the summoning rites. I produced a well honed steel knife and cut into my palm. This obviously surprised both Malcolm and Gudlaug, and Kuldar looked at me as if I had been inhaling swamp gas. I was perplexed myself when my blood leapt from my hand, drawn toward the pulsating rune as if it were magnetized. The blood stream remained steady, unbroken, flowing straight into our weapons. The flames surrounding my construction sizzled and licked greedily. The rune was now drawing out my blood at an alarming rate. I called out for Gondoc and he did not respond. Perhaps my offering was inadequate or incomplete? Feeling a sudden flash of fear I looked toward Kanul Yat Balam, but he was no longer present. I tried to calm myself, mentally reconstructing the steps of the ritual. I could not move my legs and realized that I desperately needed help. If this ritual did not end soon I would die!
I glanced at my comrades, who seemed to be frozen in place as well. They had come to aid me, to receive the blessings of Gondoc and fight the good fight, offering their most valued weapons as a show of faith. Now they were trapped! The sky darkened and lightening struck the floating ball of fire, steel, wood, and blood. I was becoming dizzy as my mad creation continued to suck the blood from my veins. Kuldar and the others were no doubt becoming extremely concerned. I could hear their voices but could not make out their words. For some reason my eyes were drawn to the rune. Our weapons remained unscathed, centered as they were in the maelstrom of fury. What had Kanul Yat Balam said? That Gondoc reveres such instruments above all else? He would never sacrifice our weapons. There was never a real risk, never a true show of faith! Gondoc wanted blood. The blood of us all!
I focused as best I could on Gudlaug and passed along my steel blade. “He wants blood Gudlaug. Tell them it’s the only way.”
Gudlaug was apparently able to decipher my croaking. He cut his palm and then handed the knife to Malcolm, who quickly followed suit. By the time Kuldar received the blade, the warrior rune was already drawing blood from Gudlaug and Malcolm, in addition to my dwindling supply.
“I’m not doing this,” he grunted, struggling to break free of the invisible bonds that were holding him in place.
“Do it now Kuldar,” urged Gudlaug in strangled dekkalfar.
“Fine.” He plunged the knife into his palm.
Suddenly there was a blinding explosion. Intense noise and light surrounded me and penetrated to my very core.
I now sat upon a grassy knoll, my head still ringing, looking up at the swirling rune constructed from our prized weapons. Gudlaug, Malcolm, and Kuldar were there as well. Towering above us was an immense kulkan warrior, at least twelve feet tall and bulging with muscles that strained against the hides of jungle cats and threatened to tear the skins of emerald serpents. His scales were deep scarlet and his jaws were caked with dried blood and bits of flesh. He gazed down upon us as if trying to determine his most immediate threat only to discover soon after that one did not exist. Gradually his eyes settled upon me.
“Shaman!” he boomed. “Who are you that you would dare to disturb my slumber?”
“I am Copoc Kitzam, from the shores east of Gelandri. I have come on behalf of my people to request your aid in vanquishing a great evil that walks heavy upon our land.”
“I know not of this Gelandri. I have lain in dormancy awaiting the birth of the Chosen and the Ascension of the Kulkans. Has this prophecy come to pass? Do Kulkans dwell once more in the Hallowed Halls?”
I was stumped.
“Are you the Gatherer?” he continued, “the Restorer?” He leaned closer. “Or perhaps the Instigator?”
“I am unfamiliar with this prophecy oh Great Gondoc.”
“Why, then, have I been awakened?”
Although the flames were now gone, lightening struck once more at the levitating warrior rune. Thunder rocked the countryside.
“The black kulkans have returned, Gondoc. And worse still, they are growing in number! We have fought them tooth and claw with some success but have recently learned a disturbing secret. They have now acquired a sinister ally!”
“Who would make allies with such a wretched race?”
“The yuan-ti oh Great Gondoc. Shapeshifters they are, man-snakes that can hypnotize and cause fear and command dark spirits to cast their evil magics.”
“Cause fear? This seems unlikely.” Gondoc looked skeptical. “I know these foes. I have picked the flesh from their bones and eaten their hearts. The Yuan-ti are the ones who aided the Black Nest in ages past and brought down our great kingdom. Their evil is deeper than the Black Kulkans, stripling!”
“Help us Gondoc. Help us to spill the blood of our most ancient foes!” Gondoc still did not seem convinced and Kuldar’s nostrils began to flare. I suspected that he would soon need to be restrained so I stepped in front of him.
“The black kulkans are loose Gondoc, and they have grown bold once more. They raid our villages, pillaging and plundering and mocking your accomplishments.” Gondoc furrowed his brow. Encouraged, I continued my tirade. “It is even said that some black kulkans believe you never existed, that you are merely a myth used to keep women and very small children in line. They disparage your name and discredit your legacy! They…”
“Silence shaman! We shall make them believe!”
I shivered as the power walk ended and we were returned to the middle world, the world of base matter.
“Hey, where’s the big guy?” asked Malcolm, though I could see Gondoc still and his fury was tremendous. “It seemed like he was starting to come around.”
“Don’t worry,” I assured everyone, “The ritual was a complete success. Gondoc is with us now and we are nigh unstoppable.”
“You call that a success?” grumbled Kuldar or Gudlaug or perhaps both. I didn’t hear the rest because my mind was focused on the Spirit World and in particular on Gondoc. I smiled when I thought of the terrible wrath he would now deliver upon those who opposed our cause.
But I also knew the terrible price I had to pay for his service. My friends were now spiritblind again, but I could see Godoc standing nearby as the rest huddled back into their blanket for a few more minutes of rest.
“Remember our pact Shaman. If you cannot give me the blood of our enemies. I will demand your blood, or the blood of your friends.” Gondoc crossed his massive arms and I saw that the red stains around his mouth were no longer dry, but wet with our blood.
