~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sinbad awoke with a stiff neck and a hangover. It took him a while to become oriented enough to realize that he was lying on the rocky floor of a cave. He sat with a start and grabbed his head and stomach for neither felt quite attached to him anymore. With slowly clearing vision, he scanned the cavern around him and found an older man standing some distance away. The cavern was lit by a huge fire in its center, which Sinbad circumnavigated as he walked slowly to the man.
The other man wore black leather pants and a billowing black shirt. He had dark bronze-colored hair laced through with strands of silver that touched the tops of his shoulders. "You've awakened," he said, turning. Sinbad stifled a gasp as he saw the man's deep blue eyes and straight handsome features. A striking resemblance existed between Sinbad and this man. In fact, the man seemed almost to be merely an older version of the handsome sailor. Faint lines spread out from his eyes and his skin hung more slack where Sinbad's was young and firm but they had the same straight nose, full mouth and elegant forehead. Stunned sobriety cleared Sinbad's mind and he stood a little straighter, feeling vaguely threatened. The older man stood a few inches taller than the Captain and smiled at the younger man's unease. It didn't go unnoticed when Sinbad's right hand reached towards his left hip and felt only empty space. The older man smiled cruelly and faint dimples popped up in his cheeks.
"You have nothing to fear from me, Captain," the man said, as he began to circle around Sinbad. Sinbad tried to collect himself but found that he could scarcely contain his discomfort. He was alone and unarmed and being circled as a beast stalks its prey. He could feel the man's eyes on him, could feel them scanning his leather-clad thighs and boring into his back. He flinched slightly when the man's hand touched his right shoulder and moved down to feel his hard bicep. "Strong, like your father," the man said, appreciatively. Out of nowhere it seemed, a dagger appeared in the man's hand and in less time than it takes to breathe the tip was pressed to Sinbad's throat. Sinbad swallowed and glared at the man. "Fearless, too. That helps," the man said. The man slipped the dagger into a sheath at his back.
"What do you want?" Sinbad hissed, tiring of the older man's games.
"I want my son to help me take over the world," the man hissed back, his eyes gleaming as he stared through Sinbad and into his soul. Sinbad trembled.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The next morning found Sinbad's crew in poor spirits. Firouz huddled in a corner retching. Rongar sat holding his head and looking like the walking dead. Bryn lay on the floor, holding her stomach and moaning. Doubar was the first to notice that Sinbad was not in the room. Once he announced that to the others, they sobered up pretty quick.
"What happened last night?" Bryn asked, rubbing her temples.
"Well, the last thing I remember was you dancing on the table and then that big burly guy grabbed you so Rongar punched him," Firouz offered. Bryn's eyes nearly popped out of her head. She searched her mind but didn't remember that at all.
"I actually meant what happened to Sinbad," Bryn clarified, still trying to remember.
"Near as I can recall, he was a goner pretty early on," Doubar said. "He passed out right about there..." Doubar looked under the table and saw only a piece of stale bread and a large lizard. "Maybe I'm remembering it wrong."
"No," Firouz said. "That's right. That serving girl came over and sat on his lap for a while. Then she left and he fell over on the floor. Remember, his leather pants squeaked on the wooden chair and we all laughed. Then... never mind."
"Oh," Bryn interjected, "you mean never mind when you starting flirting with that wench and then she slapped you when you..."
"This doesn't help at all," Doubar thundered, silencing the others. "We have to try to remember what happened after that. Where would he go?"
"Where could he go?" Firouz said. "You know as well as I do that if you get him drunk enough, he'll sleep for a week. I can't believe he would've gone anywhere, which means..."
"Someone must've helped him leave," Doubar finished. "Now we just have to figure out who and where they went." The others nodded, knowing that would be the hard part.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"What do you mean? Who are you?" Sinbad asked, his heart in his mouth. A strange feeling coursed through him and he knew that whatever this man said, it wasn't a lie.
"My name is Fortaza," the man said with a smile, "but you may call me father."
Sinbad swallowed hard and took a deep breath, steeling himself for the reply, before he said, "I don't understand."
"Yes, you are my son," Fortaza said. "Alzena, your mother, knew things about me that she didn't like. When she found out she was pregnant, she tried to hide it from me but I knew. She tried to leave me but I followed. She had a friend. A good kind woman with a husband and son of her own but she hid Alzena. After she gave birth, she gave my child to that woman and refused to tell me where they had gone... So I killed her and tracked down that woman and then... Well, you know what happened next."
Sinbad's stomach twisted though he tried to hide it and tears sprang to his eyes but he forced them back. Better not to give Fortaza any more of an advantage than he already had. "Never let them know when they hold your very soul," Dim-Dim had once said. Fortaza had Sinbad's soul. His deepest pain had been brought to the surface.
Fortaza stared at Sinbad's blank, nearly unchanging features and yearned for a reaction. "It was so easy to toss that tiny ship. The hard part was making sure you didn't go down too. Good thing that other child grabbed you. Otherwise, it would've all been wasted." Sinbad's face remained blank but something touched his eyes that time. A dark shadow passed behind them and he couldn't hide the fact that this time Fortaza truly had him. Years of empty longing and the truth hit like a physical blow. From birth, he had brought only pain to everyone around him.
Fortaza watched with a smile as the blood drained from Sinbad's face and he swayed slightly on his feet. His eyes clamped shut as he willed back the tears. None of this was possible and yet what person on earth would be so cruel with a joke. It had to be true... couldn't be true... was true. And in that truth, only Sinbad's mother had died, his father lived, but Doubar was not his brother. How to cope with the wave of emotions these revelations brought about.
Sinbad replayed all that Fortaza had said and a question came to mind. He looked Fortaza straight in the eye and asked, "What did my... Alzena, what did she know about you? What did she know that she ran for her life and you killed her for it?"
"That," Fortaza began, "you will learn soon enough, my boy. For now, it's time for a little father-son bonding." He smiled coldly and put one arm around Sinbad's shoulders. "C'mon."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Wasn't he right there when the fight broke out?" Bryn observed, pointing to a likely looking place on the floor.
"I don't really remember," Firouz said. "I can't recall actually looking for him. I assumed he was still there. I just kinda hoped that in our inebriated states, we could still hold our own. Those guys weren't small by any stretch of the imagination."
"That's probably why they clocked you before you could even throw one punch," Doubar chuckled. "Good thing Rongar caught you or you would've fallen on your own sword." Doubar, Rongar and Bryn all burst into fits of laughter at the image that conjured up.
"This doesn't help matters any," Firouz whined. The others stifled their laughter and returned to trying to recall any memory at all of where Sinbad might have disappeared to.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"What is this?" Sinbad asked, making a face at the black garments Fortaza had tossed at him.
"Part of the ritual. Put them on," was all Fortaza would say. The older man had already stripped off his shirt. Sinbad did the same and turned his attention to trying to figure out what all Fortaza had thrown at him. It wound up being a large black tunic and black hooded cloak. He pulled on the tunic and wrapped the cloak around his shoulders and turned to find Fortaza staring at him.
"What?" Sinbad snapped. He already disliked the other man and with the emotional overload of earlier still fresh, he noticed he was also very testy. It didn't help any to find the man staring at him.
"Just remembering when I was your age," Fortaza said softly. "I thought I owned the world. Or at least that it wouldn't be so difficult to do. Of course, I have possessed the means to that end for quite some time. Would you like to own the world, Sinbad?"
"Not so much," Sinbad retorted, "but I get the feeling I don't really have much say in the matter."
"No, you don't," Fortaza spat. "Of course, that makes things easier. The original plan was to perform the ritual when you were still an infant and then just kill you and keep all the power for myself. How was I to know how hard it would be to find you and to tear you away from all those loyal souls you surround yourself with? How do you manage to instill such loyalty in people? Do they all really fall for that wide-eyed boyish charm?"
"You'd be amazed how far a little kindness and honesty go," Sinbad replied. "So, since plan A has been ruined, is there a plan B?"
"Of course," Fortaza said with a smile. "Same as plan A just a little more difficult to execute, pardon the pun." He laughed deep in his throat when Sinbad took in a deep breath and held it, finally expelling it in a long sigh, while nodding slightly.
"Well, then we'd better get started because I have a feeling phase two of your plan may not go too smoothly," Sinbad said coldly. Fortaza nodded and gestured for Sinbad to follow him through another cave off of the cavern. The cave opened into another cavern, this one much smaller than the other, ringed in candles and in the center stood a pole. Suspended from the pole and attached by a thin golden chain hung two dark crystals. They appeared nearly black but as the light from the candles struck their facets, the room sparkled with a dark bloody glow.
Fortaza walked over to the pole and Sinbad followed. "I found these in a mystic's haven, tied around this scroll." Fortaza summarized the words from the worn piece of parchment. "The power of two rogue sorcerers stays trapped with these crystals. Brothers who lost their power in a battle to the death that neither could win and both lost. How the power came to be transferred into the crystals is unknown but legend says that the bond of blood may pass through the crystals and release the long-untapped power. It is said to be boundless, infinite. More power than you could ever dream of."
"Alzena knew that you had these and what you planned to do with them," Sinbad prophesied. "She refused to let you act out your little plan. Smart woman."
Fortaza held one of the crystals and the other dangled from the golden chain, spinning, the facets sending streams of crimson into the air. "Take it Sinbad and this will all be over before you know it."
Sinbad shook his head, his eyes locked on the spinning crystal. "No, with the things I know now, this is only the beginning. A life built on secrets and lies... who would've ever known? Doubar was too young to know and everyone else you killed. Why couldn't this have happened years ago when it wouldn't have mattered?"
"What wouldn't matter?" Fortaza barked. "Nothing matters." He jerked the tiny crystal, drawing Sinbad's eyes away from it for a moment. "Just take it and stop thinking so much," he screamed.
"I can't," Sinbad mumbled. "I have to leave and try to forget this ever happened." He shook his head, trying to relieve himself of the weight of his thoughts. His father stood before him, real flesh and blood but horrible with evil and greed. He had to return to Doubar before he found that evil within himself. He turned to leave. Fortaza gave a horrible scowl to the back of Sinbad's head before drawing his dagger and striking the handle against Sinbad's bronzed head. Sinbad moaned slightly as he crumpled to the floor.
"This would've been so much easier if it would've worked out according to my original plan," Fortaza said to himself as he stood over Sinbad's now motionless form. "But I'm sure this will work just as well." Fortaza knelt beside the younger man and pressed the second crystal to his palm, closing his fingers around it. Almost instantly, a crimson glow stretched out from their hands and engulfed them both. In a few moments, the glow faded and Fortaza tossed the crystals and stood.
"I can feel the power inside me," he hissed. "Well, my son, I thank you. However, I would appreciate not sharing this power with you." Fortaza drew his dagger again. "Now if you would be a good boy and just die quietly, it would make Daddy very happy." Fortaza moved to slit Sinbad's throat just as his eyes opened. His hands came up and wrapped around Fortaza's wrist, keeping the dagger inches from his throat.
As the steel blade trembled before the delicate skin of his throat, Sinbad felt a moment of fear. In that single instant, Fortaza cried out and withdrew the blade, grabbing his wrist and gazing it the red burn shaped like two hands that now blazed around his wrist. Fortaza glared hard at Sinbad and two beams of pure red magic shot from his eyes and into Sinbad's. Sinbad grabbed his head as bolt of hellfire tore through his mind. He blinked hard and rolled to his feet.
"You sure picked that up fast," Fortaza marveled. "Unfortunately, I've been preparing for this day since before you were born and that little display will not stop me." Sinbad shook off the last effects of the previous jolt just as Fortaza fired a bolt of red lightening at his chest. The force sent Sinbad flying and knocked the wind out of him. He lie on the hard floor catching his breath and one hand felt the charred hole in his shirt and the beginning of a bruise forming. Fortaza approached and loomed over him, causing a wave of anger to rush over Sinbad and white-hot lightening to shoot from his eyes.
Fortaza flew backwards and crashed onto a table laden with candles. While he tried to extinguish the flames on his clothing, Sinbad jumped up and ran down the cave and into the first cavern. He scanned the vast area and spotted the handle of a familiar sword jutting out from under a tablecloth. He heard footsteps running down the cave behind him and dove to grab his sword. His hand wrapped around the hilt just as something wrapped around his ankle and began dragging him towards Fortaza. Sinbad grabbed the table cloth and pulled, smiling at the delicious clatter as the contents spilled onto the floor.
Numerous vials filled with potions in every color of the rainbow shattered, their contents mixing until a thick gas began to fill the air. A fire started. Sinbad noticed that Fortaza had released his ankle and he jumped to his feet trying to see with burning, swollen eyes through the gas that burned his chest with each breath. He caught a movement to his right and swung his sword brutally. He smiled a thin smile as he felt the blade hit and heard a voice cry out. Miraculously, he found the cave entrance and felt his way through its twisting path. He saw a bright patch in the fog just as a low rumbling began behind him. He began to run and stumbled out of the cave followed by a fiery explosion.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The arguing finally ceased when a loud rumbling and sound that greatly resembled a thousand exploding sticks disturbed the foursome. They all ran for the door and towards the direction where they thought the sound had come from. They noticed the cloud of black smoke rising into the air and ran a little faster. They came to a cave on the outskirts of the village and found Sinbad standing in a black cloak, a charred hole in his black shirt and a dazed look on his dirt-smeared face.
"What happened?" they all said, nearly in unison as he looked from the group running towards him to the black smoke rolling from the cave. The daze left him when Doubar's hand touched his shoulder.
"Little brother, where have you been? What happened?" Doubar asked in a rush.
Sinbad noted the concern in Doubar's eyes and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I... I just don't know." He walked past the others and Bryn felt a chill as his arm brushed hers. It nearly stopped her heart the fear it brought. She let the others pass her and they all followed Sinbad back towards the Nomad.
t.b.c.