Bones, flesh and blood shot out from the violent crash of the tower, pelting the backs of Grewen and Santorray. Screams of the trapped souls echoed in the Nums’ ears as the Blothrud tried to protect them from the flying debris. But they had been too close when the tower had crashed and the force of the bloody muck knocked Santorray over, as Thorik and Avanda tumbled out of his arms and far from the Blothrud’s reach.
A large chunk of another tower twisted and rolled toward the fallen Blothrud and Nums with extreme speed. Attempting to stand and run out of the way, the thick wet debris caused them to slip and fall. They had lost momentum and only the Blothrud was able to grip the ground with his rear wolf claws to get started again. Unfortunately the Nums had slipped too far away for him to save before the tower would crush them. His options were to either save himself or die trying to save Thorik and Avanda. Gripping the blood-saturated ground with his claws and fingers he leaped toward the Nums.
Red liquid rained down on the white desert sand and bones fell from above as the city continued to destroy itself. But out of the chaos, a tall blood-covered human ran from the city and scooped up the Nums on his way to safety. Chunks of flesh from the collapsing buildings coated the muscular man’s shoulders, back, and head as he continued his escape without skipping a beat. The lifting of the Nums had been a small deviation to his running, as though it was of little inconvenience.
Santorray was both relieved and angered by the man who had just saved his friends. Not knowing who he was, the Blothrud could only assume his motives were not good. He quickly changed his course and followed the man out to safety just as the tower arrived and liquefied into a red mess of body parts.
Once they were at a reasonable distance from any more harm, the man set the Nums down and fell to his knees in order to catch his breath.
Santorray would have done the same if he weren’t concerned about displaying any weakness in front of the stranger. “Who are you?” he barked at the man.
The man quickly spun to his feet and pulled out his sword. It was obvious that he was well trained and knew how to handle his weapon. “Stay back, Blothrud, or I shall slay you like I have too many of your kin before you on this day.” Thick strips of red flesh still coated the man’s head and shoulders.
Pulling out his sabers, Santorray grinned at the idea. “I am not like any Blothrud you have ever met. I am Santorray, general of the Elite forces, son of Ergrauth, and the only lesser demon of his lineage still alive. A human presents no threat to me.”
Standing an impressive height for a man, he was still over a head shorter than Santorray. But he refused to back down. “And I am not your typical human. I am Asentar, the last Dovenar Knight of our great kingdom. How poetic that such great warriors of our two lands finally meet in combat again, for my blade has tasted your blood once before.”
“Not poetic. Just unfortunate, for you.” Santorray stepped forward to launch his attack.
“Stop!” Thorik shouted as he jumped in between them. “Asentar is our friend. I sent him here to collect the urn for the Winds of Conquest,” he told the Blothrud.
Scooping a handful of thick bloody flesh from his head and face, Asentar kept his sword firm in his other hand.
Thorik turned to the man. “And Santorray is our friend, as well as Ambrosius’ close ally.”
Neither of them looked down at the small Num as they continued to eye each other. Both still expected the other to strike first. But the long delay served to reduce the stress.
Thorik thought it best to keep talking to ease the tension. “We met Asentar in the City of Trewek. He came here to Ergrauth to find the urn in order to prove to the elders of Trewek that the dragons had been released and that war was coming. The urn must be returned to them before Corrock launches their attack.”
As Santorray and Asentar squared off with each other, a large multicolored bird with oversized eyes recklessly flew between them before landing on Thorik’s shoulder. Glancing over at it, the two warriors noticed the Num smiling.
Panning back to the Dovenar Knight, Thorik cleared his throat. “Asentar, I don’t believe you’ve met my grandmother, Gluic.” It was obvious to the Num that everyone assumed his comment was a joke, as they watched the bird fall backward before spreading its wings and flying away.
Still, Santorray and Asentar stood silent, waiting for the other to back down first.
Thorik continued. “Listen, you two are fighting the same battle and need to be willing to work together. Ergrauth’s army has passed the Guardians and they are heading toward Doven’s wall. Darkmere, in disguise as the Terra King, has convinced the Dovenar army to move north into Woodlen. This will make an easy path for Ergrauth.”
Asentar lowered his weapon, but kept it ready to rise quickly if needed. “Then I must travel to my people and warn them.” Glancing down to Thorik, he added, “You will have to take the urn to Trewek.” Reaching into a sack at his side, he pulled out a cracked urn covered in markings and paintings and then carefully handed it to the Num while eyeing the Blothrud.
“Thank you.” Thorik glanced up to see the bird with Gluic’s essence flying overhead in clumsy circles while testing her new abilities. Thorik thought it best not to try and convince Brimmelle of his mother’s fate, knowing how he reacted last time she changed form. “But I cannot travel there. I have made a promise to my grandmother to travel north across the lake to Rummon’s lair in order to release him.”
Brimmelle quickly spoke his mind at the idea. “There is no way I am going to climb a volcanic spewing mountain to release a demon that will most likely eat us the first chance he gets.”
Asentar’s eyebrow’s lowered. “Your companion is correct. Nothing but death awaits for you in Rummon’s lair. In Trewek, however, you can save the lives of many.”
“Perhaps, but it is a promise I must live up to nonetheless,” Thorik said. “Brimmelle can travel with Santorray and Grewen to the Ov’Unday city. They will have to take this on without Avanda and me.”
“No.” Santorray’s tone was deep and sharp as his blades.
Thorik turned in surprise of his response. “No? But we need your help.”
Santorray began cleaning the remnants and debris from the city off of his blades. “Grewen and Brimmelle will have to perform this task on their own. I must travel to gather Del’Unday who are tired of my father’s wrath. We must meet his forces in combat before he rules all of Terra Australis.”
“Hold on,” Brimmelle said. “I’m not traveling with Grewen. How will we survive?”
Santorray sheathed his clean sabers. “You won’t travel to Rummon’s lair and I’m not going to put up with you. Your options are slim if you choose not to travel with Grewen.”
Brimmelle looked at Asentar as an option.
“Your little Num legs and wide waist would slow my travels. I cannot risk the delay.”
Brimmelle looked at Grewen and wondered how he ever put himself into a position where he would have to travel alone with an Altered Creature.
The Mognin grinned. “Looks like you’re stuck with me.”
“Looks like it,” Brimmelle muttered under his breath.
Thorik handed the urn to his uncle. “This is now your responsibility to ensure the elders of Trewek receive this in time to prepare themselves for the upcoming war.”
Asentar glanced back at the city as the final structures fell and countless Del’Unday wandered around in confusion. “We must leave this place without time to heal our wounds. Chaos from this destruction still provides us a small window of freedom.” Taking in a deep breath, he turned back to Thorik. “May your journey be safe and all of our missions be successful. I will see you on the battlefield as we fight for the future of our world.”
“Let Ovlan guide our ways,” Thorik added.
“Have the courage and desire for freedom to overcome our fears,” Santorray added.
Avanda was not to be left out. “And the love of our friends and family give us strength to do what we need to do.”
All eyes turned to Brimmelle, awaiting his words of wisdom. Everyone else had already spoken. “This is hopeless without the Mountain King’s guidance,” Fir Brimmelle said flatly.
The group showed obvious signs of disappointment in his comment.
Clearing his throat, Brimmelle added, “Let’s be honest here. We have six of us against Ergrauth, Bakalor, Irluk, Darkmere and all of their armies. We don’t even have a crew to carry supplies and a flag for us yet.”
Obviously, his words did not stimulate excitement in the group.
Thorik nodded in agreement. “He’s right. As much as we don’t want to hear it, those are the facts. But in spite of them, I am more confident than ever that we will succeed. For we are an oddity of sorts. When, in history, has a team of this many species come together and put their prejudices aside to fight for the greater good of our land? Never in the minds of evil would they conceive that we would work together against them, and that is their greatest weakness. They feed off our intolerance toward one another. But for this moment in history, we shall dismiss these long taught urges and pull together to take back freedom and our own destiny.”
Looking directly at Brimmelle, Thorik straightened up his uncle’s shirt. “You are right about our chances of success. But I would rather die in the fight against them than to become their slaves.”
Brimmelle was struck with a newfound respect for his nephew. He had no idea he had such deep thoughts. Perhaps he had something more than he had given him credit for.
“We all have our missions. We must all do our part.” Thorik ended his speech and concluded the discussion.
“I am off to Woodlen!” Asentar shouted, as he turned and began running to the west.
“And I am off to stop Ergrauth once and for all.” Santorray spit into his hand and shook Thorik’s own saliva dripping hand. They nodded to each other with respect as a slight grin crossed one side of the Blothrud’s face. “Goodbye Sec, my little warrior friend. Never forget, it’s not the size of the warrior that wins the battle, but the size of their passion and conviction to win.” He then turned and ran to the west as well, quickly catching up to Asentar.
Grewen nodded that it was time for him to leave as well. “Every moment I wait here is another moment that could cause the people of Trewek harm. It is time for us to go.” Reaching down with his great big hands, he picked up Thorik and Avanda and lifted them up to his chest and shoulders. They hugged each other tightly. Tears from the Nums ran down the Mognin’s leathery chest.
“We will see you at the battle,” Thorik said.
“I hope no battle is needed.” Grewen then set the Nums down, stepped back, and turned to walk Southwest.
Brimmelle stood motionless. “You’re making a mistake. You should be traveling with us.”
“Perhaps, but it is my mistake to make, Uncle.”
Avanda gave Brimmelle a hearty hug goodbye.
“Speak the words of the Mountain King. They will help guide you,” Fir Brimmelle told her.
Avanda smiled as tears dripped from her cheeks. “I will. You take care of Grewen. Don’t let him eat any plants if he doesn’t know what they are.”
He nodded.
Now it was just Thorik and Brimmelle left to say their farewell. They stood there for several moments waiting for the other to speak.
Thorik broke the silence. “Take care of yourself.”
“I always do.”
“I know.”
Brimmelle bit his lip slightly as he struggled to say anything worthwhile. “Don’t go getting yourself killed. I won’t be there to save you.”
A light smile crossed Thorik face. “I’ll miss you too.” It was followed by a nod and quick slap on the shoulder for luck. The same was returned from his uncle.
The two parted, Brimmelle followed Grewen and Thorik returned to Avanda’s side as the two Nums watched all of their friends leave them in the middle of the Ergrauthian desert, just outside of the destroyed city.
Misty vapors started to rise from the fallen city, but instead of fading off, these vapors separated into thousands of individual pieces and began to roam the ruins. Moans and screams could be heard from them as it became obvious that these were the freed souls released by Gluic. This continued for several minutes until a dark mass appeared and began tearing through the city, collecting the vapors behind it.
Avanda gasped. “Irluk?”
Thorik nodded as they watched the Death Witch capture a new batch of souls for Bakalor. There was nothing they could do to stop her, and the sight caused them both to feel helpless.
Raising her hands to cover her mouth, Avanda watched as the recently released souls were captured for Bakalor. “Is there no hope for the dead? Are we all destined for this?”
As Irluk collected her bounty, the dark clouds in the sky began to part and intense beams of sunlight pierced down into the city. A sense of calmness filled the air. Vapors quickly moved into the beams of light, immediately disappearing, out of Irluk’s wrath.
Collecting the last few souls that hadn’t reached the beams, Irluk left with her load in tow toward Della Estovia.
Thorik smiled as he noticed how the light appeared to resemble the glowing columns in Della Estovia. But as quickly as the beams of light had appeared, they fell behind the clouds once more.
The trapped souls of the City of Ergrauth had been freed.
Avanda’s hand reached over and intertwined with Thorik’s fingers. They were now on their own. From this point forward, they had to rely on each other. “Thorik, I know we are fools for doing this on our own, but I believe our trust in one another and our love will allow us to accomplish anything we set our minds on. As long as our hearts are forever together, we are invincible.”
Thorik smiled, turned and looked at her lovely face. Somehow he saw past the dirt and debris from their adventure and saw a lovely woman that he had fallen for since they left Farbank. “I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather be alone with than you, Avanda.”
As they gazed into each other’s eyes, it quickly became apparent that they were not alone. There were now thousands of prior residents standing just outside of their destroyed city, many of them were spreading out and nearing the Nums. The mass majority of them were Del’Unday, which made sense. But there was also a small band of humans and Nums that had escaped the collapse of the towers as well. They were being led by a Num.
The Num leading the group was a female. Her clothes were ripped and bloodstained like the rest who followed her. Her long curly hair was red and golden blonde and her face looked familiar. “Thorik!” She ran up to him, leaped up into his arms and knocked him onto the ground. Planting a massive kiss onto his lips, she finally gave him room to breathe.
Thorik was flabbergasted at what he was seeing. “Em? Is it really you?”
“Yes! Darkmere left us in Corrock and days later we were all released from his spell.” Emilen palmed her necklace, which had held her in a spell under Darkmere’s control. “The Del’Unday that worked for him eventually decided to bring us here to be absorbed into this city. However, just as we showed up, the city started falling apart. I don’t know what happened but I’m so thankful to see you. I’ve missed you so much.”
Thorik laid on the ground in shock. He was sure that his eyes and ears were deceiving him.
Standing but a few feet away, Avanda crossed her arms and glared at Emilen’s unexpected return. If looks could kill, the murder of a female Num would have just taken place.
After reading this novel, you’ll want to read the 4th story of the series!
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Altered Creatures Epic Adventures continues with the following books:
Nums of Shoreview Series (Pre-teen, Ages 7 to 12)
Stolen Orb
Unfair Trade
Slave Trade
Baka’s Curse
&nbs
p; Haunted Secrets
Rodent Buttes
Thorik Dain Series (Young Adult and Adult)
Fate of Thorik
Sacrifice of Ericc
Essence of Gluic
Rise of Rummon
Prey of Ambrosius
Plea of Avanda
*CHARACTERS* Pronunciation Guide
Ambrosius: aeM-brO-zee-ahs
Asentar: as-en-Tar
Avanda: ah-Van-Dah
Bakalor: Bah-Kah-Lor
Bredgin: Brehd-gehn
Brimmelle: Brim-‘ell
Bryus: brI-us
Darkmere: Dark-Meer
Deleth: deL-‘eth
Emilen: ehM-il-eN
Ergrauth: erR-gRahTH
Ericc: ehR-iK
Feshlan: FehSH-Lahn
Gluic: Glu-iK
Grewen: Gru-‘en
Irluk: uhR-luhK
Ovlan: ahV-lahN
Rummon: Rum-mahN
Santorray: sahn-ToR-rAY
Schulis: shahL-is
Thorik: Thor-iK
Vesik: Ves-iK
Wyrlyn: Wer-Len
*LOCATIONS* Pronunciation Guide
Corrock: koR-RahK
Cuev’Laru Mountains: Koo-ehV Lah-Roo
Cucurrian River: Koo-kuR-ee-uhn
Doven: dO-ven
Govi: Gah-Vee
Kiri: kE-rE
Lu’Tythis: Loo-Tith-is
Pelonthal: peL-ahn-THahl
Trewek: trU-ek
*SPECIES* Pronunciation Guide
Blothrud (AKA Ruds): BlahTH-Ruhd
7’ to 9’ tall; Bony hairless Dragon/Wolf-like head; Red muscular human torso and arms; Sharp spikes extend out across shoulder blades, back of arms, and back of hands; Red hair covered waist and over two thick strong wolf legs. Blothruds are typically the highest class of the Del’Undays.
Del’Unday: DeL-OOn-Day
The Del’Unday are a collection of Altered Creatures who live in structured communities with rules and strong leadership.
Fesh’Unday: FehSH-OOn-Day
The Fesh’Unday are all of the Altered Creatures that roam freely without societies.
Gathler: GahTH-ler
6’ to 8’ tall; Hunched over giant sloth-like face and body; Gathlers are the spiritual leaders of the Ov’Undays.
Human: Hyoo-muhn
5’ to 6’ tall; pale to dark complexion; weight varies from anorexic to obese. Most live within the Dovenar Kingdom.
Krupes: KrooP
6’ to 8’ tall; Covered from head to toe in black armor, these thick and heavy bipedal creatures move slow but are difficult to defeat. Few have seen what they look like under their armor. Krupes are the soldiers of the Del’Unday.
Mognin (AKA Mogs): MahG-Nen
10’ to 12’ tall; Mognins are the tallest of the Ov’Unday.
Myth’Unday: Meeth-OOn-Day
The Myth’Unday are a collection of Creatures brought to life by altering nature’s plants and insects.
Ov’Unday: ahv-OOn-Day
The Ov’Unday are a collection of Altered Creatures who believe in living as equals in peaceful communities.
Polenum (AKA Nums): Pol-uhn-um
4’ to 5’ tall; Human-like features; Very pale skin; Soul-markings cover their bodies in thin or thick lines as they mature. Exceptional Eyesight.
Essence of Gluic Page 60