by Simon Archer
Unchained
Master of All Book 2
Simon Archer
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
4. Amalthea
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
8. Shikun
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
11. Khaba Va’Khem
Chapter 12
13. Baroness Solanna
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
16. Sir Reginald Thorpe
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
21. Solannus
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
34. Khaba Va’Khem
A Note From The Author
1
Our little party was a day and a half out from Kaulda, the village we had saved from the Weaver’s tyranny. We followed the twin suns in their arc to the west toward the heart of the barony of Solanna, and the rolling hills covered in glowing Sola crystals had given way to another of Etria’s magnificent, primeval woods. That in and of itself was a glorious sight, the untamed rainbow-colored trees a delight to the nature lover inside of me, but our purpose wasn’t to enjoy a hike.
We were headed to the Marches of Solanna, the heart of the barony, rumored to be the last free place in a world overwhelmed by the Black Runes and their corrupted Brands of Power. However, our trip was interrupted suddenly when Sir Reginald Thorpe, British explorer, gentleman, my oldest friend, and surrogate uncle, cried out in alarm.
“Everyone, get down!” he yelled as he dove from atop the massive karush, the six-legged riding beasts native to this strange land, to my left.
I didn’t hesitate, didn’t wait to hear the sound of the sharp spines tearing through the forest canopy, to do exactly what he said. Reggie was a war veteran and the man who’d taught me almost everything I knew about combat, so if anyone could sniff an ambush before me, he was the guy.
As I rolled off the broad-backed six-legged beast, my right hand went to the hilt of Libritas, the Brand of Freedom, at my side, while I kept a grip on Silver, our pet rock wyrm, with my left to keep him safe.
The rest of my party must have respected Sir Reginald as much as I did… or maybe they sensed the attack just as swiftly because they all reacted instantly.
Petra, the voluptuous dryad and the first friendly face Reg and I had met here in Etria, the Land Below, gracefully spun in place and raised her hands to the treetops. The plants followed her unspoken commands, the branches and trunks of the trees shifting to block off part of the fusillade… but not all of it.
That was where my other two lovely companions stepped in. Shikun, tall, powerful, and half-dragon, launched herself up into the air. Her fiery wings flared, the wings I had restored with Libritas’ power, as she breathed out a gout of flame to intercept the remaining projectiles. Whatever they were, they were definitely flammable because most of the quills were instantly turned to ash, but those that got through, well, they were now on fire.
It wasn’t a problem, though, because that’s when Amalthea stepped up to the plate. The majestic sphinx was as tall as the karushes, but instead of intervening physically, she spread her white-feathered wings and closed her eyes. Emerald sigils and runes filled the air in the blink of an eye, the sign of her consulting the Khalati Record, the mystical essence of all written knowledge in Etria, and with it, the runic magic that was prevalent in this magical world.
Before the last burning spines could impale anyone, a sudden gust of wind invoked by Amalthea’s runes rushed like an invisible blade above our heads and below Shikun’s clawed feet to tear the projectiles asunder even as it blew out the sparks.
“I think somebody doesn’t want us getting to Solanna,” I growled, my suspicion immediately confirmed as multiple dark shapes burst through the rainbow foliage. It was clever. They had obviously planned to unleash an attack that would draw our eyes to the canopy while advancing on the ground, but I was already moving to intercede. I ran past my karush as I drew the Brand of Freedom from her sheath.
“Quite a lot of somebodies, my boy,” Reg called back, hidden from me by our karushes. All the same, I heard the scrape of antique British steel on leather, the distinct sound of him drawing his .455 Webley revolver, one of the few tools of modern Earth that made the trip here intact.
“Wolverpines, I fear!” Amalthea called out… not that I knew what that meant. The animals of Etria were just as amazing and fantastic as the plants and trees, and two weeks wasn’t nearly enough time to become familiar with even a tiny fraction of them.
But I didn’t need to know about them because when the beasts broke out of the shadows a moment later, it was clear why they had the name they did. At first glance, you could easily have mistaken them for Earth wolves, from the long, loping gait to the lupine head and snout. The difference was just as readily apparent: the coats of long, deadly sharp spines that replaced the fur like our porcupines. So, all in all, while it was descriptive, it wasn’t a really clever name.
There were a half-dozen wolverpines that I could see, coming in three on a side, but I wagered there was more. After all, these creatures had all their spines.
I pushed myself harder as the three that came on my flank rushed toward Petra, who was still focused on shaping the trees overhead. Before any of the snarling beasts could take a bite out of my favorite dryad, I summoned Libritas’ power. Her spiraling runic head blazed with heat as I thrust the brand forward into the closest wolverpine’s side. The sickening smell of burning flesh filled the summer air as Lib tore into spines, hide, muscle, and bone like a hot knife through butter.
The impact was so hard, in fact, that the Brand punched right through the first beast, and as I drove Libritas up to her hilt in one spiny wolf, the tip of my brand slammed into the second of the tightly packed beasts and sent it tumbling sideways.
As for the third of Petra’s assailants, I wasn’t the only one of a mind to protect the members of our little circle. In a flash of red scales and golden flames, Shikun dropped down square on the wolverpine’s back. The thing’s quills snapped on her armored scales along with its spine as her toe talons sliced through the wolverpine’s ribs and spine. An instant later, her weight and strength flattened the howling lupine completely.
The thunderous report of Sir Reginald’s revolver cut off the next wolverpine’s angry snarl, then the firearm boomed again in rapid succession. Two loud thumps followed immediately after that, two more wolves dead… but that wasn’t all of them, as Reggie let out a cry of alarm mixed with the snarl of a wolf.
“Amalthea!” I shouted above the din of battle, and I didn’t need to say more. Though the sphinx was the newest addition to our party, I could trust her to protect Reggie in my stead. After all, from the bond we had formed when I freed her from Khaba va’Khem’s vile branding, I knew Amalthea saw herself first and foremost as a protector of others.
“Worry not, William!” Out of the corner of my eye, the green glow of the sphinx’s magic intensified, and the cutting rush of wind that blew through the trees solidified into a curved blade of swirling air. It was pretty damn impressive, but I didn’t focus on it.
Instead, I ripped Libritas free and turned my attention toward the wolverpine I’d only grazed as it readied to attack. Though it was clear that one of its front shoulder
s was fractured from my strike, pure savage fury burned in its eyes as it lunged forward.
Not that it got the chance to do much of anything. Petra had finished weaving the trees and branches overhead into an impenetrable canopy, a fact I knew from the thunking of more spines into them, and spun to face her attacker. Her dress of leaves and vines flared out as she whirled and raised a hand toward the wolverpine. Grasses, vines, and other plants burst out from the forest floor to entangle the animal in mid-leap as I brought Lib around in an overhead strike that drove the wolf down to the ground.
There, it was quickly engulfed by the plants and rendered immobile. Its growling struggles only lasted for a moment, though, as Shikun swiftly knelt down, grabbed the wolverpine’s head in both red-scaled hands, and twisted hard. A sickening crack echoed as the beast’s neck shattered, and it went mercifully limp.
As for Reggie and Amalthea, I looked up just in time to see the sphinx’s elemental blade the sphinx flash through the air in a glittering arc. The edge descending behind the cover of our karushes, and a wolverpine’s yelp rang out. As the wind sword rose back into view, a spray of blood slung from its tip to paint the foliage red.
Off in the forest, past the protective dome that Petra had woven for us, whines, howls, and the sounds of the rest of the pack running through the foliage hit my ears, but they were receding. Whatever spurred these animals to attack us, it wasn’t worth losing their entire pack over, it seemed.
“Sounds all clear,” I called out as I scanned the clearing. “Everybody okay?”
Petra heaved a sigh of relief as she glanced between Shikun and me. “I am, thanks to you both! If you hadn’t intervened--”
“It was both my duty and my honor, first sister,” the draconian woman said seriously, dipping her head in a reverent gesture I’d noticed a few times over the past week. With everything going on and all the adjustments I had to make to this new life in the Land Below, I hadn’t asked about it… yet. There’d be time soon enough.
“Just glad you’re safe.” I smiled softly as I stepped forward and gave the tiny dryad a kiss on the forehead.
That was when Reggie stepped from around the karushes, his well-worn expedition shirt and khakis now drenched in wolverpine blood.
“Oh, yes, check on the youthful maidens before attending to your aging mentor and oldest friend,” he quipped as he holstered his revolver. “I see how it is, Master William.” There was an amused quirk to his lips and a twinkle in his eyes that told me just how much the old explorer was joking.
I grinned back at him. “I didn’t need to check on you, because what could Etria or any other land have that Sir Reginald Thorpe couldn’t handle, eh?” He started to laugh at that. “Besides, Amalthea wouldn’t let you get hurt.”
“There is truth in that,” the sphinx said as she stretched out her leonine body and folded back her wings, a curious glint in her eye. “It is my duty to the clan to defend those within it to my utmost ability. That leads me to wonder what precisely just happened here.”
“I don’t understand,” Shikun asked hesitantly, tucking a lock of flame-red hair behind her right horn. “We were attacked by wild beasts. That’s what happened…?”
“What she means, Shikun,” I said thoughtfully, “isn’t so much the events, but why.”
The dragon-girl flushed, the more human skin of her face turning as scarlet as her scales. “But…” She flashed glances at Petra and Amalthea both. “Don’t wild animals… do that?”
I didn’t need a road map and a guide to see how mortally embarrassed Shikun was. It wasn’t her fault that her upbringing had been as the Weaver’s instrument of war. She had no idea how the world outside of battle or torture at the now-dead Black Rune’s hand was. As I sheathed Libritas, I rested my left hand comfortingly on the rough scales of the draconian’s shoulder.
“Hey, it’s fine,” I said softly. “You don’t have a lot of wilderness survival experience.”
Shikun looked up at my touch and maybe turned even redder, but for a different reason. Still, I pressed on.
“The truth is that wild animals don’t normally attack armed groups of people, at least not where I come from, and I think that holds true here.” A sagely nod from Amalthea confirmed my suspicion, so I continued. “So, something made these wolverpines attack us.”
“Oh,” Shikun murmured, then shook her head slightly as if to clear her thoughts. “I see. I’ll remember that for the future, William.”
As I nodded to her, Reggie wiped a bit of gore from his shoulder and tutted. “Well, the fact that we are but a half-day from the Marches of Solanna must factor into it,” he wagered. “Perhaps some vile agent of the Black Runes wishes to prevent us from finding assistance or rallying forces against them?”
“We must assume that’s the case, good sir knight,” Petra said, her tone serious as she gestured at the carcasses in front of us. “William dear, I understand that wolverpines are ill-suited for eating. Would you like me to clear away the dead so we may discuss it in a more pleasant environment?”
“Sure.” I nodded. “Thanks, Petra. I’m going to ask Lib if she has any thoughts on this, but we talk fast, so feel free to throw out any ideas.” I glanced around at my friends as I settled my right hand on Lib’s hilt. “Amalthea, can you check the Record? See if there’s any written missives or information about what might be behind this in more specificity? Shikun, if this does have to do with the Black Runes, is there anything you can recall the Weaver saying about this region, even in passing?”
“It may take a few moments to peruse the records of such an ancient barony, but I will do so forthwith.” Amalthea waved a paw at me in acknowledgment, flashing Libritas’ gold-and-silver rune atop it before closing her eyes to concentrate.
Shikun frowned a bit and folded her arms over her chest as she rubbed her chin. Taking that as a good time to consult Lib, I turned my thoughts inward while Petra commanded the trees to clear the area.
“Any thoughts on this one?” I sent to the Brand. “I know you were out of action for a while, but you’re still way more in the know than I am.”
“There are many mystics, druids, and shamen that could influence wild animals.” Libritas pulsed softly with each syllable of our mental conversation. “Naturally, that makes picking out a likely culprit difficult.” There was a short pause, and I imagined I could hear her humming to herself in thought.
“What makes this especially troubling is that, when last I was awake, the Barons and Baronesses of Solanna kept the Marches and all space within a day’s travel clear of all dangerous monsters and beasts,” she continued in her low, husky voice. “They are, or at least were, anthophilan, and between that race’s natural power over animals and some other… power they possessed, it was simple to enforce civilization's hold on these lands.”
“Anthophilan?”
“A race with many traits in common with the humble bee,” Libritas replied. “An ancient and noble species, the anthophilan possess a strict hierarchy. The lowest among them, the drones and workers, are barely sapient, while the highest, the anthophilan kings and queens, are incredibly powerful and dominant creatures.”
I nodded thoughtfully as I mulled that over. It seemed like a very odd race of creatures, but amazing at the same time. Now more than ever, I wanted to meet these new people, another of Etria’s wonders. I was about to ask more about this ‘power’ the rulers of Solanna possessed when Shikun suddenly looked up from her thoughts and bounced on her taloned feet, an act that I have no shame in reporting made her bikini-clad and very human breasts bounce in a way that tantalized me.
“I remember something!” she cried out, a puff of fire escaping her lips in her excitement. Just as quickly as it came though, the dragon-girl’s glee subsided. “It’s probably nothing, though…” Her voice trailed off as she rubbed the back of her neck.
This wasn’t the first time Shikun doubted herself, and it probably wouldn’t be her last. Once more, I mentally cursed the Weaver for
what he’d done to her, the only recompense being that we had put the spidery bastard into an early grave. I’d see Shikun through her self-doubt in time, and I stepped forward to coax the answer out of her anyway when Petra stepped beside the draconian.
“Nonsense, little sister,” she soothed as she put a leaf-clad arm around Shikun’s shoulders, her wrist vines winding around the girl to bring her in closer. “Any little scrap of information may be critical, isn’t that right, William?”
I hooked my thumbs on my belt and nodded. “Petra’s right. Sometimes, the difference between victory and defeat is the smallest thing.”
That must have connected with something inside Shikun, because she looked up suddenly, a fierce look in her eyes. “And that’s what I remembered. It was when I was still young, during the time that bastard ettercap was instructing me in the arts of war.” There was a pained cast to her beautiful face as she recalled that terrible time of her life. “I asked him once why we didn’t march beyond Kaulda, to take the seat of the barony. While he… punished me for the gall to speak out of turn, he told me that the Marches were a place we would never venture. That something dangerous to us had taken root here.”
The dragon-girl shook her head slowly as her tail lashed slowly behind her. “I thought then that it was some remaining band of freedom fighters and dismissed it from my mind, and when Sullah, Sona, and Aroch bid us to come here for aid, that only reinforced that idea.” She glanced off towards the copse of trees where Petra had disposed of the wolverpines. “Now, I wonder if what lies beyond is a danger not just to the Black Runes, but to us as well.”