The Gateway (Harbinger of Doom Volume 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

gathered around
as Tanch studied the coin for a time. “There’s no doubt,” said
Tanch, “some strange arcane signature indeed emanates from this
coin.” He held out the coin toward Theta. “Would you care to
examine it?”
    Theta waved Tanch’s hand away. He wouldn’t
touch the thing. Tanch held out the coin toward Claradon. “Master
Claradon? Sir Gabriel?”
    Claradon reached for the coin.
    Gabriel started. “Stop!”
    “ Aie!” cried Claradon as he
touched the coin, his face contorting in pain and revulsion.
Gabriel swatted at Claradon’s hand and the coin went flying. “The
damn thing burned my hand.”
    “ It doesn’t seem to like thee
Eotrus,” said Theta chuckling.
    “ Are you hurt boy?” said
Gabriel.
    “ It’s a thing of evil! and should
not be touched by a righteous knight,” said Claradon, still wincing
from the pain.
    “ Oh my, oh my,” said Tanch,
hopping from one leg to the next. “I beg your pardon Master
Claradon,” said Tanch. “I didn’t know it would harm you. Please
accept my deepest apologies. I didn’t know. Truly, I had no idea
that --”
    “ Tanch. Put the coin on that large
stone,” said Gabriel. “That way we can examine it without having to
hold it up.” Tanch did so.
    “ It’s got many strange markings on
its surface,” said Dolan, still digging.
    “ They are mystical glyphs and
symbols,” said Tanch. He turned the coin over to view its obverse
side.
    “ Mortach,” said Theta.
    “ Indeed,” said Tanch. “This symbol
embossed on the surface is the mark of Mortach,” said Tanch. “And
the glyphs on the other side are used by Mortach’s priests and
followers for their vile rituals.”
    “ Who’s this Mortach fella?” said
Dolan.
    “ He’s a Chaos Lord,” said
Claradon.
    “ A who?” said Dolan.
    “ They are vile, maleficent,
completely inhuman, otherworldly creatures,” said
Gabriel.
    “ Once they were men,” said
Theta.
    “ No longer,” said Gabriel. “Now
they are patrons of death, destruction, and all that is unholy and
corrupt.”
    “ Sorry I asked,” said
Dolan.
    Gabriel continued, “They are few in number,
but said to have lived since the dawn of time. They possess
superhuman powers and wield incredible magics beyond the ken of
even the greatest mortal wizards. They are the sworn enemies of our
lord Odin, and the rest of the beneficent gods of Asgard,” the
Aesir. “They reside on another world entirely, the very hell of
myth and legend. There they command vast armies of lesser fiends,
devils, demons, call them what you will.”
    “ Legend has it,” said Claradon,
“that long ago these beings walked freely on our world,” Midgaard,
“but were driven off - back to their Courts of Chaos, by the great
heroes of yore.”
    “ Oh, now I get it,” said Dolan.
“We call them fellas ‘Old Ones’ back at home. Lord Angle and I
don’t get on well with them. You’ve a lot of them folks around
here?”
    “ No, of course not,” said
Claradon. “If they were ever truly here, they are long since
gone.”
    “ But they’re not forgotten on
Midgaard,” said Gabriel. “Even now, they’re worshipped as gods by
practitioners of the black arts— those schooled in the necromancy,
demonology, chaos sorcery and the like, and by other base
individuals. These followers are murderers and lunatics all. They
sacrifice innocents on unholy altars dedicated to the foul lords,
in return for promised power, wealth, or more base desires. Cults
of their followers are scattered here and there throughout all the
known lands.”
    “ They say that even in Lomion
there’s a secret temple dedicated to one of their number, Hecate,
somewhere in the southeast section of the city,” said Tanch.
“Also—“
    “ Here’s another one!” said Dolan,
lifting a second golden coin out of the dense soil a few feet from
where he had found the first. He passed it over to Tanch who placed
it on the stone beside the first. Soon Dolan and the others had
unearthed