Gaius Darkspell and the Duel of Fates (Pt 2)
This is the first story I’ve finished from “Instructions for Strange Desires”. It was a ton of fun to write, so here’s part 2of 3 of the epic showdown between Gaius Darkspell, the greatest of wizards, and Valkath the Inferno, his greatest foe.
The story begins here with Part 1.
Sweat beaded on Gaius’ forehead, and he would have wiped it away had he not given his last hanky to Ilium right before her battle with Valkath. He stood there at the precipice of the crater, sweat still beading, angry, exhausted, but determined, his breath coming in gasps that could’ve been mistaken for a set of bellows with aspirations of becoming an accordion, and he beheld the entrance to the dragon’s lair.
It was an impressive sight. A great iron door, hinged into the mountain, stood gaping at Gaius like a massive maw, threatening to swallow him whole. It towered over him, and he estimated someone five or six times his height could easily walk in without bumping his head, which made sense given that it was the front door to a dragon’s lair. Gaius gawked, something Ilium had admonished him for repeatedly, and when he heard her gentle, if not occasionally searing voice in his head, he clapped his trap shut and shrugged. Despite the fact that he was…
