The Frailty of Desperation (Part 3)

            Had the Beacon still been alive she would have been proud of the Pestilence for believing in hope. And she would have been even more delighted to see her faith be rewarded in the way it was. No, the Poet didn't miraculously recover in time, but another sort of miracle did indeed occur. The Drifter returned.

            Leaping through the broken doorway he made quite the entrance, letting go of the device in his hands before his feet even hit the ground. Sailing through the air the Pestilence caught a glimpse of the spike-tipped medallion as it struck into the back of the Shadow Demon. Letting loose an agonizing scream the Shadow Demon turned and repaid the Drifter with a spell of his own. Several bolts of pure, dark energy shot out from his fingertips and knifed through the Drifter's flesh. Bleeding profusely the Drifter fell to his knees as he watched the Shadow Demon collapse to the floor. The amulet bearing an ancient, holy sigil that he had left to retrieve was suppose to exorcise any demon, yet all it did to the Shadow Demon was knock him unconscious. Still, it had done something and he wasn't about to let its power go to waste. Signaling for the Pestilence to help him up he informed her of his plan. They had to hurry and seal him away somewhere before he came to. The only option he could think of was to chain him up and dump him into a cave or a lake, or at least something they could bury him in.

            Doing her best to aid him the Pestilence tried to get him to his feet, but he was too weak. At least one of his wounds had been fatal and he wasn't going to last much longer. It was a surprise to her that he was even able to stay up on one knee. Seeing as he wasn't going to be able to help her though she ran over to the Poet and tried shaking him awake as he had fallen into unconsciousness just like the Shadow Demon. Not expecting another miracle she was amazed when he began to open his eyes. Taking a second to take in what was going on, he managed to get up and stumble after her.

            Out into the Frozen Abyss the went, running to the Garrison's vehicles in search of chains and a truck with a trailer hitch. Luckily neither was that hard to find with all the mining and loading equipment they had brought with. Backing the truck up to the door of Jazmin's Tavern they quickly began wrapping the Shadow Demon up in chains. It was a lot like what they had to do to the Beacon, only more heavy duty and with less squirming. During this time the Pestilence told the Poet what exactly the plan was. Hitching the body to the back of the truck the Poet realized he knew a good place to dump the body. There was a pond not far away. He had seen it during one of his many days exploring the frozen tundra. Not arguing the Pestilence jumped in the truck and on they drove straight to the pond with the Poet guiding the way.

            Backing the truck as close to the pond as they could they released their cargo. Still a few feet short they had to push him the rest of the way. Fortunately the Shadow Demon was lighter than he looked being half shadow, insubstantial material. All it took was making a hole big enough to push him through the ice and down he went. The chains made him sink fairly quickly. With how cold it got the ice would form a seal around the hole in no time. Now all they had to do was hope the magic in the medallion in his back along with the chains and ice would form a good enough seal to hold him for good. Only time would tell. It's not like they had any other option though. It was the best they could do under the circumstances they were given. Now they would just have to wait and see.

            Two days passed without activity. The ice had gotten so thick over the pond that it was impossible to see what was going on underneath. Back at the inn the Poet and the Pestilence were cleaning up the mess. There were bodies, bloodstains, and broken pieces of the door and wall littered about, not to mention two piles of ash that used to be people. It showed the aftermath of just what the frailty of desperation could look like. Nevertheless the Pestilence insisted on sweeping it up and rebuilding the parts of Jazmin's Tavern that needed repairs. Her plan was to take over the role Jazmin provided as innkeeper. That way she could stay here and watch over the Shadow Demon should he somehow escape. It was a noble plan in the Poet's eyes but not one he cared to share. Whatever the Shadow Demon had done to him had given him control over the darkness inside him. He had always feared its power, but now he embraced it. That nether blast had awoken his true potential. For the first time in his life he felt strong. Now he just had to stop it from getting to his head. What he intended to do was take the minerals and gems the Garrison had collected and go live like a king for a while somewhere warm. The Pestilence wished him luck and he the same to her. And within a week of trapping the Shadow Demon beneath the ice they went their separate ways.

            In time, travelers finding their way to Jazmin's Tavern began calling the Pestilence Jazmin because she ran the inn. Not knowing how to react and not wanting to tell anyone about what had actually happened she just ran with it. It was a nice name and constant reminder of why she was doing what she was. The Poet did come back to visit her from time to time and that kept her going if nothing else. It made her feel like what she was doing meant something and that she wasn't alone with her past. She was the guardian of the Frozen Abyss. That is what mattered. It was a thankless job, but she vowed to continue serving vigilantly as its protector until the end of her days...