Seven days and seven nights, Elric journeyed across the countryside. He spoke to no one and hunted his own food. In the breaks of dawn on the eighth day, Elric reached G'harne's country. He could see the damage that had been wreaked by the worm and smiled in spite of himself.
By noon, he had reached what was left of the city. As he entered the gates he saw men, women, and children alike working to rebuild their destroyed civilization. They stopped to watch the stranger walk down their streets. His black plate mail glistened ominously in the sunlight. His cloak whipped behind him enabling glimpses of the pair of swords he wielded. Some of them he looked in the eye and watched as they shivered and turned back to their work.
He stopped for a brief lunch at an inn and asked for directions to the leader's home. A brief meeting with the duke of the city and his council gave Elric the information he needed. He did not reveal his identity or his purpose nor did they ask. They simply answered his queries without question.
Elric left the city, now knowing Shudde-M'ell's path. For four days more, he tracked the worm, seeing the mass destruction the beast was leaving. Houses were burned, crops destroyed, horses and cattle lay rotting in the sun, flies and maggots feasting on the flesh.
Elric had determined that Shudde-M'ell was heading back towards the great city of Malathar. He had quickened his pace over the past few days, stopping less often to rest and even going without food some days.
Continuing his journey through the night, Elric could finally see Malathar in the horizon, only a half days journey away. Then he spotted movement in the plains below. Shudde-M'ell had beaten him here!
Dawn came again and the sun crept up over the mountains, illuminating the city of Malathar in all it's glory. Elric moved quickly today, knowing that the beast was almost upon the city already.
As he approached the wall, he could already hear the screams of death from within the city. The worm had apparently torn through the city's defenses with ease. People ran for their lives abandoning everything they owned.
Then he saw it, Shudde-M'ell. The fifteen foot worm roared in fury and destroyed a building with the single swipe of his tail. Elric crossed his arms and stared at the worm in envy.
As if it could feel his gaze, it stopped screeching and reeled around faster than anything Elric had ever seen before. It looked right at him, emerald green eyes staring into his blood-red own. The two stood transfixed on each other in a seemingly timeless moment and Elric just smiled.
A piercing scream reeled out of Shudde-M'ell as it threw itself at Elric. The elf uttered a few words and a portal appeared before him. Quickly leaping into it, he appeared on the far side of the worm and watched it careen into the side of a building.
Unhindered by the miss, the worm spun around and attacked again. Elric leapt into the air releasing burning red fire from his hands striking the worm with each shot. Shudde-M'ell howled in fury, but brushed off the attack without even a pause.
Elric leapt onto the worm's back and focused energy into his hands. He grasped the worm about the neck as shocking jolts of pure energy wracked its body.
Squirming and writhing, it threw Elric from its back. He flew through the air and landed squarely against the side of a stone building. Shaking his head, he looked up to see the worm headed directly at him. He rolled out of the way just in time and jumped back to his feet.
Elric spun around just in time to see the creature launch a heavy stone at him. The elf quickly muttered a few words and a small shield rose around him to deflect the rock.
"Show me something real, worm! Your taps do me no harm!" screamed Elric.
Shudde-M'ell howled in rage and extended its body straight in the air. It grew from its mere fifteen feet to more than triple its original size. Towering in the air above Elric, the elf gasped, frozen for a moment's time.
The worm slammed its body down, just missing as Elric leapt out of the way. The power of the blow shook the land and knocked Elric off balance. All around him, houses and building crashed into the ground.
Screaming out his own rage, Elric stood and looked at the worm. A fire began to burn within him and his eyes swirled in vortexes of flames. An evil grin formed on his lips and he sneered at the worm.
He threw off his cloak. Reaching behind him, he tore the brother swords from their sheaths and faced the worm.
"Let's see if you're true to your word, Oakley," Elric whispered.
Releasing a fierce battle cry, Elric flew through the air towards the worm. Stormbringer slashed straight through the worm but again left no blood. The worm howled in a fierce pain that echoed throughout the land.
Shudde-M'ell turned to Elric as he landed on the ground and dove down as if to swallow him whole. The elf jumped out of the way and buried Stormbringer deep within the worm's skull.
The embedded sword sent searing pain through the worm and it howled and writhed on the ground. The movements threw Elric in the air and he landed fifty yards from the squirming creature. Elric stood again and realized Stormbringer was still embedded in the worm's head.
Shudde-M'ell reared back and glared at the elf again. Its emerald eyes changing colors as it stared at the elf. Howling again, the worm spat balls of fire at the elf. Caught off guard, Elric took the brunt of the blow and it sent him to the side. His plat email absorbed the flames and he was not seriously injured, merely taken aback.
Elric jumped back to his feet and glanced at his remaining sword. He looked coldly at the worm and then back at the sword. He sighed loudly and charged.
The worm attacked again as well, spewing more fire at the elf while Stormbringer remained embedded in its skull. Elric dodged the fireballs and leapt at the worm again.
Holding Mournblade in both hands, he thrust the sword deep into the worm's belly, forcing it in to the hilt. His hands remained grasped firmly on the sword. Both Shudde-M'ell and Elric screamed in pain and fury as the sword drove into the creature's skin.
Images appeared in Elric's mind. The battle they had just fought reenacted in slow motion. Then, the flashes jumped back to his conversation with Oakley. The bartender appeared in his mind and Elric saw himself thrusting Stormbringer into the man's chest.
More and more images flew through Elric's mind and he cried out at the searing pain flowing through his body. Everything else was closed off to him. Shudde-M'ell meant nothing to him, he heard no other sounds, and he forgot about Oakley's bidding. Then a final image appeared before him.
He saw the earth tearing open and a creature surging from below carrying a baby. It crossed the earth leaving only decay and destruction as it passed. When it reached the river it produced a baby and two swords, laying them side-by-side. Elric instantly recognized the blades as Stormbringer and Mournblade. Elric opened his mouth to howl in fury but no sound escaped his lips. Then a voice came to him, a voice like death itself...
"...goodbye my son, with these swords I give you greater power than the mortal world has ever seen. As long as you wield both of them, no harm can come to you and you will be immortal. I only hope that you do not make the same mistake I did and be cast down from the heavens. Seek the good in you, my child..."
The vision faded and Elric's hold on Mournblade softened. He let go and collapsed to the floor in a heap, sobbing. His head rose to look at the worm as tears streamed down his face. Shudde-M'ell was looking back at him, returned back to his original size. Stormbringer lay next to it, no longer embedded in the creature's head. A small tear flowed down from the worm's emerald eye and it blinked at Elric.
With all his energy, the elf stood up and took the worm's head in his hands.
"I understand, Shudde-M'ell, I understand. Come, friend, let us visit, G'harne."
Elric helped the worm up and retrieved his swords, looking at them for a long time before sheathing them. Together the two fighters walked out of Malathar's gate.
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