This page is part of a frameset. Click here to reload the frameset including navigation.

Chapter Ten - The Wharves - "Betrayal"

A Conflict Of Interests

Kain and Umah arrive at the outskirts of the Wharves. Umah turns to Kain.

Umah:
Vorador has said we must seek out a war galley. We should search the southern docks.

Kain:
What about the defences here?

Umah:
The heaviest of all the Sarafan outposts. They control all trade and all travel to and from Meridian.

Kain:
The Sarafan are nothing compared to what I have faced, and destroyed.

Umah:
Don't be so arrogant. Their finest warriors will be waiting within. The Glyph Knights are deadly.

Kain:
We shall see.

Umah moves closer to Kain, looking at him directly.

Umah:
Tell me one thing, Kain, before we go in.
If you do kill the Sarafan Lord, and recover the Soul Reaver, what then?

Kain:
You know the answer to that.

Umah:
Tell me.

Kain:
Then Meridian, and all Nosgoth will become mine.

Umah:
And the Vampire Resistance?

Kain: (shrugging)
Well you may do whatever you wish, of course.

Umah: (quietly)
Of course.

Umah quickly grabs the Nexus Stone from Kain's chest and wears it herself.

Kain:
What!

Umah:
Do you take me for a fool?

Kain:
You dare -

Umah:
Vorador has told me all your stories, Kain. He said that you would stop at nothing to achieve your great ambition - absolute power.
And when you control Nosgoth, are we to believe that you would let us vampires live and do what we wish? We are the only ones who could stand in your way.
No. You will have to hunt us down and kill us, and how is that different from the rule of the Sarafan Lord?

Kain:
I will not defend or explain my actions to you, Umah. No one, not even you, will stand in my way!

Umah starts to walk away, stepping backwards, never taking her eyes off him.

Umah:
I thank you, Kain, for giving us this chance to defeat the Hylden for all time. But you have done enough. I shall be the one to find and kill the Sarafan Lord, and Nosgoth shall belong to the vampires once again.

Kain:
You fool. You have not the smallest chance of surviving such a battle.
Now, give me the Nexus Stone, or I shall pry it from your thieving fingers as you convulse in death.

Umah:
Now the beast shows his true nature... and so quickly, too. I wish it had been otherwise for us, Kain.

Umah starts to teleport

Umah:
Farewell.

Kain growls and leaps at her. The spell removes her before Kain's strike, and she appears a short distance ahead, out of Kain's sight. He follows her on foot. He reaches a gate in the market area.

Gatekeeper:
No one's allowed through here without the password. The fog's come in and no ships will be sailing until they turn the lighthouses on.

Kain overhears two men talking as he explores the waterfront.

First Man:
They won't let me down to the docks. They say it's because of the fog, but I need to get to my boat.

Second Man:
Just give 'em the password 'North Star'. He'll let you through.

First Man:
Thanks, mate. I owe you one.

Kain returns to the market and speaks with the gatekeeper.

Gatekeeper:
You again? Password?

Kain:
North Star.

Gatekeeper:
Good enough.

A short while later, Kain meets a man blocking a doorway.

Man:
Keep your distance!

Kain:
Never fear...

Man:
Are you Kain? They sent me to help you. You must reposition the lighthouse, so that the Sarafan supply ship will dock and the drawbridge will lower.

Kain does as the man instructed.

The Price Of Betrayal

As Kain continues through the Wharves, he encounters Umah. She is surrounded by several Sarafan corpses, but she is severely wounded. Kain kills the last Sarafan Knight for her.

Kain:
We meet again, Umah.

Umah: (breathlessly)
Kain...

Kain:
Yes. Kain.
I thought you were to bring the Sarafan Lord to his knees.

Umah:
I thought...

Umah collapses to the ground.

Kain:
I know.

Kain drops to one knee beside her as she speaks.

Umah:
It seems... I was wrong. I could not carry the fight... alone.

Kain:
You were brave to try.

Umah:
Kain... I'm dying.

Kain:
Yes. You are.

Umah:
I need your blood. Please. You can save me.

Kain bends forward and takes the Nexus Stone back.

Kain:
I know.
Tell me, child. Do you see me ruling Nosgoth?

Umah:
Yes, yes. I see it now.

Kain:
And do you believe that Nosgoth rightly belongs to me?

Umah: (desperately)
I do - I believe it, Kain. Please!

Kain:
... Then you may die, knowing the truth.

Kain strikes Umah with his claws.

Umah: (dying)
No!

Kain:
You should never have betrayed me.
You could have been my queen.

Umah: (dying)
Kain...

Umah dies.

Kain: (quietly)
Now you have left me alone...

Kain continues as planned. He reaches a yard where a demon is suspended in a cage. Vorador contacts him.

Vorador: (WHISPERING)
You must unleash the demon out of its cage. Then use the empty cage to smuggle yourself onto the ship.
Kain - be careful.

The demon kills the guards around it, then escapes entirely. Kain gets into the cage and boards the ship.

PREVIOUS PAGE - NEXT PAGE