[December]

December waited. The house was silent, and the night sounds Montfort reached his ears unimpeded. With a wave of his hand, December could activate wards that muffled the incoming sounds, but he chose instead to merely sit and listen. A strange tingling began to build behind his right ear, and it was immediately followed by a scratching sound coming from behind the walls. J'Hasp had returned.

"Masster!" hissed the creature as it emerged from its hole. "Terrible thingssss! Author and the othersss attacked!"

December frowned. "Attacked by whom? I ordered no attack."

"Golemsss. Golemss of ice...with masster'ss face!"

"Golems. Are our visitors all dead?"

"Author livesss. Esscapess."

"Of all of them, he would be the one to live. We must leave."

"Masster?"

"If Author lives, he will go directly to the Montfort authorities. He will accuse me of some involvement, and they will come here en masse to secure my capture. I cannot allow that; I must get to the bottom of this."

"J'Hasp will protect you!"

"No need; we will not be here when they arrive. I have more important things to occupy my time than dealing with Montfort's finest. These golems that wear my face, they are no doubt responsible for the murders last night. Someone constructed them and sent them here. Someone who knows me, knows my methods. Someone powerful enough to bring life to the inanimate. Skilled enough to carve my face into his creations. All of my enemies of that caliber have long since been dealt with...except for one: Jerimiah Trisk."

"Trissk! J'Hasp will bring old man here!"

"No. It appears that my business in Bephal is not yet done, and in order to conclude things satisfactorily, I must return there. We go to Rivus; the Night's Bloom will get us into Bephal. Is the guard still outside?"

"Yess."

"We will take the secret way, then." December stood. A furtive hand motion caused a large display case against the far wall to slide quietly to the side. Behind it was a large opening leading into the darkness. December and J'Hasp disappeared into the passage, and, seconds later, the case slide to its former position. As it clicked into place, a powerful surge of energy pulsed through the entire house, magically sealing every window and door. The outside sounds were cut off completely, as not even the most ephemeral wisp of air could penetrate the wards. It would take the Montfort authorities quite some time to locate a mage skilled and powerful enough to break the spells, and, by that time, December planned to have settled this entire matter. Trisk and Hendragon would be dead. His name would be cleared. And he would be free to begin his subjugation of Montfort unopposed.

[December - Night's Bloom HQ]

December stormed through the catacombs, trailing a cloud of frozen mist behind him. The guards let him past unmolested. They could see that all was not right, and dared not risk his ire. They did, however, inform Rivus of their enraged benefactor's arrival.

Rivus met December in the open space that served as their assembly hall. The men took their usual positions, well away from each other. J'Hasp paced nervously behind his master.

"I have something for you, Decem-"

"Why was I not told that ICE GOLEMS were wandering the streets of Montfort! Why was I not told of Cerin's death!"

"What? I sent word to you as soon as I found out!"

"I received no message! Who was the messenger?"

"Minis."

"The boy. You entrust vital information to a boy. The authorities were in my house, questioning me about events that I know nothing about. Accusing me of involvement in a murder of which I was not even aware. I am not pleased."

"It was Minis, sir. Something must've-"

"I find YOU at fault here, Rivus. The boy is a fool or a pawn. YOU should have seen that." December advanced on the smaller man.

"December, please!...I-I had no idea. I...We...I..."

"Where is he? Minis...where is he now?"

"Away. He never returned from delivering the message."

"J'Hasp!"

J'Hasp skittered over to his master and hissed in dutiful obedience.

"Find the boy and bring him here."

The creature bounced out of the room and dashed down the hallway. The scratching of its claws against the stone floor slowly faded and disappeared.

"And you, Rivus. What shall I do with you? You have failed me in a most grievous manner."

"No! No I haven't! I... I have something to show you!"

"What is it?"

"A man! A stranger was asking questions about you and Cerin this morning. We found him earlier tonight. Badly beaten. Someone worked him over real good."

"Hendragon. You have him?"

"I captured him myself."

"The man lost a fight with a golem. I am sure that he was in no condition to resist."

"Golem?"

"Have you questioned him?"

"He won't talk."

"He will talk to me. Take me to him."

Rivus turned and hurried down a corridor leading deeper into the catacombs. December followed him into the darkness, down some rough stone steps , and into a short corridor that dead-ended at a single barred cell. A weak Author Hendragon lay in a heap in the corner. The man lifted his head as his visitors approached, and his eyes widened momentarily as the recognized December.

"You!" hissed Author. He winced in pain at the effort.

"Got some broken ribs," informed Rivus. "Head injury. We fixed him up... but not TOO good." Rivus winked at the prisoner, who then tried to spit at him, but only ended up drooling on himself.

"Well, now." said December. "What have I done to deserve this good fortune?"

"You'll pay!"

"Pay? For what?"

"Murderer! Your monsters killed Parode and the others. You're face...They had you're face!"

"Since when have I employed mindless automatons to do my bidding? And why would I do something so inane as to carve my face on them?"

Author glared at December, but remained silent.

"Someone is trying to implicate me in these things. Cast suspicion upon me. Most likely, that someone has also sent you to guarantee their success."

"The Captain of the Guard himself sent me after you."

"And who does the captain work for?"

"He works for..."

"Jerimiah Trisk."

"Not true!"

"Oh, drop the charade, Hendragon! You know I am not responsible for those murders. You know who is really behind this... you're employer, Jerimiah Trisk. You will tell me what he is planning. You will tell me now!"

"No. Even if it were true, and even if I did know something, I'd not tell you anything!"

December turned to Rivus.

"Open it." he said.

"eh?"

"I said open it."

Rivus produced a small rusty key and unlocked the cell. December opened the cell door and stepped inside.

"Prepare some men to accompany me to Bephal. Tonight. We shall leave when my business with Mr. Hendragon here is complete."

"Yes, sir. I'll accompany you myself." said Rivus

"No. Five other men. Not you."

"eh?"

"Do it."

Rivus turned and began to walk away.

"And Rivus, no one is to disturb Mr. Hendragon and I."

"Yes, sir." called Rivus as he disappeared up the steps.

"Now," December pulled the cell door closed behind him and walked over to Author. The prisoner scuffled to his feet, only to be grabbed by the collar and thrust against the stone wall. December leaned in close, his face mere inches from Author's. "Jerimiah Trisk. What is he up to?"

"How should I know." The suddenly freezing air made it even more painful to breathe. He felt the sweat solidifying on his face and scalp.

"You work for him. Directly or indirectly, he is responsible for your presence here. He is the only one who could have created those creatures. And it is no coincidence that you are the only survivor of the most recent attack. But all is not as it seems. If Trisk wanted me dead, he would have sent his golems after me, and not the Cerins and Parode. He wants something else. What is it?"

Author spat directly into December's face. The liquid froze before it even touched the man's skin.

"You will tell me."

"Or w-what?" Author had began to shiver from the cold. "Y-you'll f-freeze me to d-death? L-Like the Cerins?"

"Do you want to know an interesting fact about extreme cold?" December raised his left hand and lightly stroked Author's cheek. Author winced in sudden pain and attempted to free himself, but December was too strong. "It seems that, to the human body, extreme cold is almost indistinguishable from extreme heat." December ran is finger across Author's forehead. The man screamed and renewed his struggle. "If an object is cold enough, it can burn just as effectively as if it were red hot. Let us see if that fact is true, shall we? A little experiment..." December grabbed the front of Author's shirt and ripped it from his body, baring his goosebumped flesh. "Starting at the beginning... Jerimiah Trisk's activities since I left Bephal..."

Author's screams echoed throughout the catacombs as December's 'experiment' began.

To Be Continued...