by Bill Albert
The creature was like nothing they had ever seen or dared to have nightmares about. It looked in many ways like some sort of crab or sea creature, but it was more suited to land. The body was nearly a foot long, round and thick, and had three legs on each side. The trunk was covered with red colored scales and one end sported two large claws. There was no obvious head, but two bulbous eyes nestled on stalks protruding from one end. One of the claws snapped off a bit of the eggshell. It chomped on it and then appeared to just swallow the rest inside the claw.
It clacked the claws together repeatedly and then the front half, eye stalks, claws and all, looked up at its mother. The mother, attached to the ceiling by a natural slime that appeared to be generated inside, was even worse. The body was a constantly pulsing giant lump of colorless flesh and muscles. Several bulb eyes on stalks around the edges constantly scanned the surrounding area.
Wide eyed Gallif and Luvin looked at each other, nodded, then turned and ran like hell.
Once they had reached the mouth of the tunnel they both dropped face first to the ground panting heavily. For a brief moment Luvin thought Gallif was crying but resisted the urge to hold her. As she rolled onto her back he saw the usual smile on her face and laughed back.
“What was that?” Luvin asked. “I’ve never imagined anything like that.”
“I think, between the two of us, we should avoid telling Blinks or Jakobus about that.”
“Agreed. If those kids grow up to be like their mother I don’t want to be here when they get hungry.”
Their laughing fell silent as they heard fluttering sounds coming towards them. For a brief second Gallif hoped that Lincilara was coming back but she soon realized there was more than one. Due to the echo Luvin was unsure of the direction the noise was coming from, but Gallif pulled both her swords and looked ahead.
It was barely a second before Luvin also realized that harpies were approaching. The harpies were large winged creatures with female bodies. They had ugly crone faces and wrinkled breasts with birdlike wings, tails and claws. They flew in swarms and while they usually just stole food, they weren’t above stealing anything they could get their hands on. Luckily these were smaller creatures, only a few feet tall, but there were ten of them.
They were quickly encircled in the swarm and could feel their claws trying to grab at anything they could. One quickly grabbed a hold of Gallif’s flame sword and tried to pull it away from her. She tried to shake it loose, but the claws were too tight on their prize. She deflected a second harpy away with the frost sword as she smacked the first hard against the rock wall. Stunned, the harpy let go but quickly returned for another attack. Gallif tried to stop it with her flame sword but missed the thief’s body and struck its wings. The flame sword’s casting spread and the dried feathers in the wing caught on fire and it withdrew after trying to take a few bites out of Gallif’s arm with its crooked yellow teeth.
She glanced over and saw that Luvin had successfully downed two of the winged monsters already. Another approached her and she tried to cut it down with both swords. The harpy tried to alter its flight path and missed the flame sword but Gallif’s slight twitch with her left hand brought the frozen blade straight through the harpy’s chest and it died instantly.
Before she could remove it she shook as a sharp pain came from her right leg. One of the harpies was attempting to take the knife she kept hidden in a sheath strapped to her thigh. It had wrapped its wings around her leg and had its head buried under the leather strapped skirt of the armor. She tried to shake it away but two more harpies dove at her and she had to defend herself with the swords. She swung at them simultaneously and diverted them sharply, so they smashed headfirst into each other. The harpy she had impaled was still on the sword but before she could release it, she stumbled from a sharp pain in her right leg. She cursed as she looked down and realized the harpy that was attached to her was biting her leg. Another harpy clawed at her flame sword and she tried to fight it off with frost sword, but the extra weight of the completely frozen harpy deflected her aim.
She ground her teeth feeling the pain from her leg and she smacked the frozen harpy against the rock floor. The body shattered on impact and the extra weight of the sword vanished. She returned her attention to the beast biting into her leg when it suddenly howled in pain and released her. It dropped to the ground and Luvin struck it again with his hammer and it died.
She turned around several times to protect herself from any more of the winged thieves, but none remained. She counted the dead bodies on the floor and turned to Luvin. “Well done,” she said.
“Thank you,” he smiled back proudly.
His joy lasted only a few moments before she swiftly kicked his feet from under him, grabbed him by the collar and pulled back hard. He opened his eyes in confusion just as the flame arrow passed above him where he had just been standing. Luvin jumped to his feet and ducked as another flame arrow went by.
Gallif was ahead of him using both swords to deflect the attack. These arrows were made of flame with no wooden shafts, heads or feathers and he knew that his weapon would be no good against them.
“Get behind me, get behind me and grab my belt,” she called. He ran to join her and took up a position directly behind her. He grabbed her belt and held it tightly. As she dodged the streams of flame back and forth and he learned how to stay with her and detect what move she was going to make by the way she shifted her weight.
The arrows came steadily and Gallif used both of the swords to defend them. She collided with one of the projectiles with the frost sword and the fire was instantly extinguished. Another directly followed that she tried to counter with her flame sword. She missed the head but managed to intercept the tail and the arrow was diverted to the ground. Each time she zigzagged she led them forward.
Soon they could see the figure that was casting the arrows at them and they had no doubt it was Marassa. As they closed in the number of arrows bursting from the silver tipped wand increased and finally, they were too intense to go forward. Gallif shattered four arrows in a row and deflected the fifth but it was obvious she was starting to wear down.
Luvin held his hammer tight and swung it briefly to remind himself of its weight. He released Gallif’s belt and put a hand on her shoulder. She glanced back for an instant and he nodded to her that he was ready. She was unsure of what he was going to do but when he pulled down on her she dropped to get out of the way. Luvin reeled back the hammer and used all his strength to launch it at Marassa.
The wicked caster never saw it coming and the flat surface of the war hammer caught her in the shoulder. She screamed in pain and dropped the wand in shock.
Gallif and Luvin immediately ran to her, but Marassa dropped to the ground and scooped up her wand. Before they could reach her, she was upright, made a quick jump cast on the area in front of her and disappeared. Just as Gallif and Luvin arrived the shimmering of the cast disappeared.
They stopped and scanned the area in all directions watching for a sign of Marassa or the harpies returning.
“She’s a lot better caster than I expected,” Luvin admitted. “She was so flamboyant and over the top I thought she was just pretending.”
“Yes, I didn’t expect her to be that good.”
“Professor Scheie would be proud of her,” he said. “He was the one who taught me about shadow forming.”
“Did anyone say anything?” Gallif asked guiltily.
“What do you mean?”
“You stayed at the school after I left. Did anyone say anything about the losses? A prayer or something?”
“A few,” Luvin said sadly. “We made an agreement to go back. To spend a year looking for other survivors and then return to the school and try and rebuild.”
“Good. Don’t ever forget that.”
“I won’t,” he said knowing what she meant. “Neither will you.”
There was a barely audible giggle over his shoulder and Luvin was ready to strike with his hammer. Only G
allif’s reflexes were faster and she grabbed this wrist and held him back.
“It’s okay,” she said and let go when he relaxed his arm. “I know who it is. Lincilara, show yourself.”
Slowly and gently the fairy faded in to view between Gallif and Luvin. The glow from her slender body was unmistakable. Facing Luvin her large eyes were sparkly and friendly and her wings fluttered just fast enough to keep her in place.
“This is Lincilara,” Gallif introduced them. “Lincilara, this is my friend, Luvin.”
“Hello,” Lincilara sang to Luvin. “Do you trust him?” she asked as an aside.
“One hundred percent.”
Lincilara zoomed in a circle around Luvin’s head, brushed near him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, then landed on Gallif’s shoulder.
“Show off,” Gallif whispered.
“He’s really dreamy,” she giggled and winked.
“I think I’m getting used to this,” Luvin said emotionlessly, not taking his eyes off the fairy. “I suppose after the dragon, what else is there for you to run into? I’m just not sure how to explain it,” he added and held his hand out flat and nodded to her.
Lincilara made several circles around his hand and then landed on his palm. She looked at him sternly and pointed a finger at him with as much menace as her little body could muster. “You better not tickle my feet.”
“I promise,” Luvin smiled. “So, where did you find her?”
“It was easy,” Lincilara answered first. “We’re everywhere if you know where to look.”
“I’ll explain later,” Gallif said looking Luvin in the eyes. He nodded back and she continued. “The Third Minister told me there had been rumors over the years of a library built by the dragons down here. Marassa also mentioned it to me as well. That was what we were sent here to find. The Giant Lord believed that if there was a way to remove the curse on the elves it would be there.”
“Or maybe some way to save you,” Luvin said glancing at her belly.
“Lincilara, I need you to do something for me. I need you to try and find a library.”
“Hold on,” Lincilara said and sniffed several times in each direction. “I can smell something. It’s pretty weak but it could be books.”
“You can smell books?” Luvin asked.
“Of course, we can. Can’t everyone?”
“In all the legends and fables I’ve heard of fairies, that was never mentioned,” Luvin defended himself.
“I suppose, of all the things we can do, that doesn’t come off as very exciting.”
“Lincilara,” Gallif said stepping closer to her. “It’s very important we find that library. Stay invisible, stay silent, but move as fast as you can.”
“Okay,” she turned back to Luvin and whispered to him, “You smell good, too.” She flapped her wings gently and faded out of sight.
They listened for any signs of movement and when there were none they prepared to leave. Suddenly there was a flash of light and Lincilara reappeared directly in front of Gallif. “Don’t use your flame sword.”
“Why not?”
“I’ll explain later,” Lincilara said and vanished.
***
Soon they were reunited with Jakobus, Blinks and Acrufix due to Jakobus’ exceptional dwarven ability at travelling underground and Gallif’s tracking skills. Their relief was short lived when Marassa stepped from the shadows.
Her appearance had changed considerably since they had seen her last. She now wore studded leather armor with a blue tint and had two long swords sheathed at her sides. Both arms were covered in hard leather gauntlets and daggers were strapped around her boots. A large whip and several smaller bags were looped belt hooks and a ring with a large red focus stone was on a finger.
Gallif carefully studied her but it was too dark to see if one of the bags was the same Marassa had shown her earlier.
“Nuts,” Blinks said with eyes flapping steadily, “I am so tempted to give you a round of applause for that entrance.”
Without a word she pulled the silver tipped wand from a gauntlet and whispered a few words as she pointed it at Blinks. There was a resounding crack as a lightning bolt shot from the wand and struck Blinks in the center of his chest, the man was completely knocked off his feet and landed several yards further away. Jakobus ran to him and patted the heated leather armor until it stopped smoking. Blinks coughed several times and his shoulders dropped when he saw the heat stains on his armor.
“Oh, no you don’t,” Marassa shouted and shot another lightning bolt.
This time the target was a spot in front of Luvin who had been moving aside from the group with his hammer in hand. The bolt charred the ground. He froze in place.
“I want you up front,” Marassa ordered making sure that Luvin knew he would be the next target. “I want the boy up here where I can see him. No shadow forming for you.”
Luvin came forward and stood next to Gallif. He looked at her apologetically and she shook her head.
“I found the library you were sent here to find,” she said noting the doubt on Jakobus and Blink’s faces. It was impossible to tell what Acrufix was thinking as he stood solidly, expressionless and unmoving. “You didn’t know?”
“It’s true,” Gallif said quickly. “We were sent here to find a library. According to the Third Minister there were centuries old rumors of a hidden dragon library here.”
“Oh, my, you didn’t even tell them that much. Not much of a leader, are you?”
“She’s good enough,” Jakobus protested. “She has our trust.”
“She has your trust. Aren’t you a little curious about what else she hasn’t told you?” she asked as her eyes shot toward Gallif.
Gallif’s heart skipped a beat. She felt a cold chill, her thoughts in turmoil. Could she know about her feeling for Maura? Gallif was well aware of how that type of affection was forbidden in their society and feared her friends might abandon her if they knew. But she had told no one, there was no way Marassa could know, was there? Then she remembered the dreams and the feeling that someone was watching.
“Yes, you are here to find a library,” Marassa continued. “I have seen it. I know exactly where it is.”
Gallif suddenly smiled and asked confidently, “So why don’t you go there?”
“Yes,” Acrufix spoke loudly. “What do you need from us?”
“Well, that is where we have a problem,” she admitted, and her hand dropped so the wand was no longer pointed at Luvin. “I can’t get to it myself, even with my casting powers there is too much between here and there. It will take all of us to get through.”
They were all shocked by her confession. Despite their distrust for her there was a ring of honesty in her voice.
“It takes the right combination of skills to get through the final barrier to the library. That is something we have suspected for a long time. We’ve all gotten this far because of the talents of different people. There is one more barrier to go.”
“We don’t need you,” Gallif said. “We’ve made it this far with you hurting us so we can make it through without you.”
“You’re just a single caster,” Blinks said as Jakobus helped him to his feet. “The four of us can take you,” he said and looked around for confirmation. “Ok, the five of us can take you.”
“He’s right. There is no reason for us to help you,” said Luvin.
“Oh, yes, there is a very good reason for you to help me,” Marassa said and pulled a small purple bag from her belt. “For her,” she said pointing at Gallif. She poured half of the white sparkly powder into her hand and held it out for them to see. “This will dissolve what’s nesting inside her belly. One mouthful of this and she’ll survive,” she teased them with a wicked smile dropping the powder onto the ground and grinding it into the dirt with her boot.
Even Acrufix was shocked by her move and all five of them took a step forward readying their weapons.
“What about you, boy? What will you
do to save her life? Or you, the noble dwarf, will you work for me to save her?”
“No more,” Gallif denied her taunting. “If you need help getting to the library I will help you but leave them safe.”
“It won’t be enough with just me and you. I’ve been watching you fight and you’re not near as good as your reputation says you are.”
Instinctively Gallif’s right hand went to the hilt of the flame sword. She readied her grip for combat, but her hand started to tingle as if ants were crawling over her palm. She slowly withdrew her hand.
Marassa looked between Gallif and the bag several times. “The tarn should be hibernating for a few more days. You get this when we reach the library.”
“Agreed,” Gallif said knowing it wouldn’t be as simple as that, yet knew she had no other choice. Then she heard the slightest fluttering of wings, smiled as she realized she was wrong, and the bag in Marissa’s hand disappeared.
Marassa looked at her palm in shock then drew her swords so fast they knew she had to have placed a cast on herself to increase her speed. Gallif was closest and she armed herself with both her swords as well. Despite a sudden shaking in Gallif’s right hand she managed to strike at the same time Marassa attacked her. Gallif’s flame sword collided with Marissa’s own flame sword overhead and there was a shower of sparks. The frost sword cracked against Marassa’s other flame sword below and resulted in an explosion of small ice crystals. They held each other at bay for a moment but Marassa was much stronger. She pushed against Gallif and moved the flame sword closer to her face. Gallif could feel the heat against her forehead but refused to step back, enduring the heat.
Suddenly there was a blur over Gallif’s right shoulder as Luvin swung his hammer at the older woman. Marassa shifted to her side to avoid the strike and was forced to kick at Gallif’s left knee. Gallif cried in pain and fell back but before Marassa could cut her with the flame swords Blink’s long sword swept in. He struck Marassa’s right arm and she ground her teeth together from the shock. Her eyes never left Gallif and one of her flame swords struck Gallif’s already wounded knee. The younger woman fell backwards.