by Peter Hall
“What in Shi’lum was that?” Starcaller said, wiping the water from her tattooed face. She looked at the others and they were just as confused.
Bryn and Eir followed the river west, scanning the water and the shoreline for any sign of him. They kept searching all afternoon and into the evening, their hope of finding Durandal fading with the sunlight. Bryn slowed down and they came to a halt.
“We have to go back.”
“Alright.” Eir said softly.
It was well into the night when they made it back to the bridge and Starcaller had made a campfire nearby. Bryn dismounted her horse and then she helped Eir down from her pony. She walked over to the campfire and punched Cerberus hard in the side of his head and he slumped to his side, dazed. He spat out some blood, shook his head and tried to get up but Bryn kicked him in the face and he slumped back down.
“Damn you! This is your fault you stupid half-wit! Why didn’t you wait for him to cross!” She screamed at Cerberus and kicked him in the face again, this time knocking teeth out of his mouth.
He cried out in pain as blood sprayed from his mouth and poured from his smashed nose. Bryn grabbed him by the throat and started punching him in his battered face, her fists covered in blood. Starcaller leaped up and grabbed her arm to stop her. Bryn spun around and punched her in the face, knocking her onto her back and toppling Eir over in the process. She turned and punched Cerberus in the face again and he groaned in pain.
“Please stop! I’m sorry.” he cried.
Just as she was about to hit him again she heard a twang and felt a sharp pain and screamed. She saw a glowing blue arrow sticking through her shoulder, then after a few moments it evaporated into a blue mist. She felt blood running down her arm and she collapsed to the ground holding her shoulder. She started swaying back and forth and her eyes rolled back in her head. She fell to her side and passed out in the mud.
It was dawn when she finally woke. She opened her eyes and sat up holding her head. Eir was watching her. She looked afraid. Bryn looked over and saw Starcaller and Cerberus sitting by the campfire. She got to her feet and Cerberus jumped up and backed away. Starcaller leaped to her feet and drew a blue arrow from her quiver, aiming it at Bryn. She winced and looked at her shoulder. There was blood running down her arm and she couldn't feel her right hand. She swayed back and forth and dropped down to her knees, staring at the ground.
“Bryn? Are you alright? Bryn what’s wrong?” She could hear Eir saying in a muffled voice. She opened her eyes and her vision came back into focus. The three others were staring at her looking confused.
“Bryn! Are you alright?” Eir said and put her hand on her arm.
“Yes. I’m fine.” Bryn said and put her hand on the Halfling’s hand. She got to her feet and turned to the others. Starcaller raised her bow again. Bryn looked at Cerberus and his face was badly bruised and beaten. His nose was broken and his eyes were swollen and closed. His cheekbones were smashed and he had blood dripping from his nose and mouth. Bryn’s face went pale.
“Cerberus… I’m sorry. I...”
She turned and walked over to the river bank and sat down. Starcaller put her bow down and helped Cerberus back to the campfire. Eir walked over and sat with Bryn.
“What do we do now?”
“We keep going.” Bryn said and gazed out at the river.
“What about Durandal?”
“I’m sorry sweetheart but we don’t have time to go searching for him. He may have drifted all the way back to Iliad by now. That’s if he survived. We need to keep moving.”
Eir looked down and started sobbing. Bryn put her arm around her and watched the river rushing by. As they packed up and got ready to ride, Starcaller approached Bryn and tapped her on the shoulder.
“Hey! You almost killed him! What is wrong with you?”
Bryn turned and looked her in the eyes. “I don’t know. I’m sorry. It won't happen again.”
“Yeah your right about that. Because next time I’ll be aiming at your heart and not your shoulder.” she said and walked back to her horse.
Starcaller mounted her horse and looked at Cerberus. He was standing there gripping his battle-axe, shirtless with his face beaten to a pulp, his cuirass, helmet and shoulder plate missing.
“Look, big boy,” she said, “why don’t you head back to Iliad, your horse is gone and you look like Hades. I’ll get your gem and bring it back to you after we complete this journey to Drogan.”
“No.” he said and squinted at her through his swollen eyes.
“So what, you're going to run the whole way to Drogan?”
“Yes.”
Starcaller sighed. “Alright. Good luck with that.” she said and turned her horse north. A bubbly tune began playing and Starcaller turned to see Eir sitting on her pony playing on her flute. Cerberus turned around and his face glowed with a bright golden light and returned to normal, still ugly but completely healed. He felt his face and looked at Eir with wonder.
“Thank you.” he said and smiled at her.
Eir walked her pony up beside him and pointed her flute at his face. “You owe me one now fatso.” she said and rode ahead.
Bryn felt her shoulder and it was healed. Music magick… amazing. “Alright let's get moving.” she said and they headed north across the muddy wastelands as the rain started to fall.
The horses were travelling at a steady pace and Cerberus was running along close behind. As the day wore on, the rain continued to pour down, the mud got thicker and travel became more and more difficult. The horses began to struggle and Angel was getting stuck every now and then. The rain didn’t let up and by evening the terrain was too treacherous to ride through, so they all dismounted and walked the horses through the mud. Bryn sat Eir on her shoulders and walked Angel for her. She turned and looked back at Starcaller and Cerberus.
“There’s no point setting up camp in this, we keep moving until we’ve crossed these marshes.” She said over the wind and rain. Starcaller nodded and they continued slowly making their way north on foot, all through the night. By mid-morning the following day the rain had eased and they could see a huge forest of tall dark trees ahead in the distance. They made the treeline by mid-day and they were able to mount their horses and continue on through the forest. The wind was howling through the trees in the dark forest and it was getting colder as the sun went down. Bryn took off Durandals cape and wrapped it around Eir to keep her warm. After night fell it was too dark to see anything in the forest so they made a small fire and set up camp for the night.
They sat huddled around the campfire, ate supper and turned in for the evening. Bryn listened to the sounds of birds squawking and insects buzzing as she lied down and tried to get some sleep. She held Eir close to keep her warm and as she laid there shivering she stared into the fire. “I hope Durandal is alright” the Halfling said quietly and drifted off to sleep.
They woke up early the next morning, gathered their things and prepared for the day's journey north. Eir picked some berries from a nearby bush, mashed them in a pot with some water and heated it up over the fire, creating a delicious drink to warm their bellies. They shared the drink and Starcaller smiled at Eir.
“Thank you, little warrior.” she said.
Eir smiled and walked over to her pony. She took some berries out of her pocket and fed them to Angel, humming a cheerful tune to herself. Cerberus guzzled down the last of the berry juice and burped. Bryn got up and walked over to the Halfling.
“Are you alright Eir?” she said.
Eir turned and looked up at Bryn. “Yes I’m alright,” she said and turned back to her pony, “I miss Durandal.”
“I miss him too, sweetheart.”
Eir turned around and looked upset. “Let’s go back and look for him.” she said and her lip began to tremble.
Bryn crouched down and held her hand. It was freezing cold. “Eir, we have a very important quest. We have to stop this monster in Drogan. The longer we take the more peop
le will die. I think Durandal would want us to keep going.”
Eir looked down and nodded. “Yes he would want us to keep going.” she said and turned back to her pony. She looked back at Bryn. “Maybe he will catch up and find us.” she said and went back to feeding Angel.
Bryn stood up and looked around. The rain and wind had eased overnight and now the forest was blanketed in a thick mist. All she could see was the tall black trees fading into the mist in all directions. Before they headed out, Eir took out her sword and carved an arrow pointing north into one of the trees. She carved EIR below it. The four continued heading north through the forest, Bryn and Starcaller on their horses, followed by Eir on her pony and Cerberus jogging close behind. After a couple of hours riding through the mist, Starcaller pulled up her horse and the group came to a halt. She looked at Bryn.
“Look ahead, in the mist.” she said.
Bryn peered into the mist ahead of them and she saw it. A dark figure walking slowly through the forest. Then she saw another one. Then two more dark figures in the distance, swaying and stumbling as they walked.
“Undead.” Bryn said and dismounted her horse. “They’re moving south-west, most likely headed to Iliad.
Starcaller dismounted and walked up next to Bryn. “How many do you suppose there are.” she said.
“It’s a horde. There are likely hundreds of them scattered around the forest ahead.” She looked around at the group. “We don’t have time to go around them so we’re going to have to go through them.”
Starcaller looked at her and nodded. They both got back on their horses and drew their weapons. Bryn turned her horse around. “We keep a swift pace. Eir, stay close to me. Cerberus, keep her safe.”
Eir unsheathed her sword as Cerberus looked over at Bryn and nodded his head. The giant warrior gripped his battle-axe and gritted his teeth. They moved forward in a tight group and began to pick up the pace. As they came up to the first wandering draugr it looked up just as Bryn rode past and smashed it’s head off with her sword. The forest lit up with bright red light as Starcaller let loose a flurry of seeker arrows that wound around the trees as they headed into the horde.
Draugr after draugr started appearing from the mist and they began to pick up the pace. One lunged at Angel from behind a tree and Cerberus charged forward and crashed into it, sending it flying. Another one came at him and he smashed the handle of his battle axe into its face and kept running alongside the pony. A draugr grabbed onto Angel on the opposite side and Eir screamed. It grabbed her leg and went to bite her. Eir closed her eyes and stabbed the ugly monster in the face with her sword. She opened her eyes and it was gone. She stared at the blood on her sword for a moment then looked over at Cerberus. He cleaved a draugr in half as he ran and the blood sprayed up in her face. She wiped her eyes, looked forward and Bryn smashed a draugr’s head off in an explosion of blood. Starcaller was firing her arrows and the forest around them was lighting up with bright red and blue flashes as the arrows sailed through the mist.
“Keep moving!” Bryn shouted as they dashed through the horde of undead.
The draugr were swarming towards them now from all sides. The trees lit up bright yellow as Starcaller shot an explosive arrow ahead of them. It landed in a draugr's shoulder and the creature looked at the arrow as it dissolved into mist. There was a loud ‘boom’ as the arrow exploded and twenty or so undead went flying into the air, in pieces. They kept charging through as dirt, blood and body parts came raining down on them. Starcaller turned in her saddle and fired another explosive arrow behind them. Eir covered her ears as the arrow sailed past her and exploded, obliterating the undead that were giving chase. She fired five more red seeker arrows up over Eir’s head and they swooped down like eagles snatching a fish from the ocean, each one hitting its target with precision.
They kept moving and eventually cleared the horde and began to slow down. Cerberus was puffing and panting but still keeping up with the others, his body and battle-axe covered in blood. The mist started to clear, the group slowed down and came to a halt, taking a moment to rest. They were all covered in blood and Angel had been scratched badly along her hind quarters. Eir inspected the wound on her pony with a worried look on her face. Then she noticed blood running down and dripping off her feet. She lifted her red gown and saw that she was bleeding badly from a large gash in her leg. Her face went pale and she felt sweat beading on her forehead.
“Bryn...” she whispered as she slumped sideways and fell to the ground. Bryn jumped off her horse and ran over to Eir as she laid there, motionless. She lifted the Halfling’s gown and saw the serious wound on her leg. Oh no...
“Eir, wake up!” Bryn said and brushed the little lady’s hair off her face. Her face was covered in dirt and blood and her gown was filthy. She opened her eyes and Bryn smiled. She got back to her feet and Bryn picked up her miniature rose gold helmet off the ground and put it on her head.
“Are you alright Eir?”
She gasped and looked over at Angel. She started to limp towards the pony and Bryn picked her up.
“Sweetheart, take it easy. You have a bad cut on your leg.”
“I know! My flute it’s in Angel’s pouch.”
Bryn ran over and found the flute. Eir took it and with shaky hands she began to play a bright, melodious tune as she sat in Bryn’s arms. The golden light glowed across her leg and Angel lit up bright gold for a moment. She stopped playing and went limp.
“Thank you Bryn.” Eir said quietly.
Bryn held her for a moment, then sat her back on the pony. “Are you alright sweetheart?” she said and Eir nodded.
Bryn mounted her horse and looked around. “Alright let’s keep moving. In a few hours we will clear Black Forest and enter Asgard.”
She kicked her heels and the others followed her through the trees. They crossed out of the dark forest and into the Hinterlands of southern Asgard late that evening and as the night approached they set up camp in the vast open grasslands. The wind howled across the plains and it rained steadily all night while they tried to get some rest.
Bryn stayed awake and kept watch for a few hours, then Starcaller took over half way through the night. After a couple of hours she kicked Cerberus and made him take over. He sat by himself on a nearby rock and kept watch until the morning. When Bryn woke up, Eir was standing a little way from the camp, staring out across the wide open plains to the south, her red gown billowing in the wind.
They continued north across the rolling grasslands, only stopping to rest a couple of times throughout the day. They could see the Mountain Ranges of Asgard far in the distance ahead of them, towering over the land. By nightfall they made it to a small abandoned village on the edge of the Hinterlands. There were a handful of cabins and a couple of farms, a well and an empty stable. The ground was muddy as they approached and there were rotting corpses scattered around the place, some with crows pecking at them. The village was high on a hillside and the wind was freezing cold.
“Let’s take shelter here for the night.” Bryn said and they headed toward the small stable.
There was a dead horse outside the stable gate and it had been gutted and eaten. They put the horses in the stables and headed to the closest cabin. The four hurried inside the cabin out of the cold and Bryn closed the door behind them. There was a sliding wooden bar on the door and she slid it along and it locked the door shut. There was a hearth at one side of the cabin and Bryn made a small fire. The cabin was empty apart from an old rug on the ground and a bench with some old tools on it against one of the walls. They huddled around the fire and tried to keep warm as the wind howled outside.
There was a window on the wall next to the door and the shutters were swinging in the wind. Bryn went over to close them and she heard growling noises. She looked out the window into the darkness and she heard it getting louder. Then they appeared from over the hill. It was a massive horde of undead, wandering through the night and they were heading straight for the village.
Bryn turned around, eyes wide.
“We need to go now!” she said and ran to the door.
She slid the wooden bar across and opened the door. The wind gushed in the room as the others gathered behind her. She stepped outside and a draugr lunged out from the side of the cabin and grabbed her. She stumbled back into Starcaller and they both fell back into the room with the creature screaming in Bryn’s face. It bit down on her neck and she screamed and pulled its head back, snapping it clean off. She tossed it to the side and Cerberus slammed the door shut as the horde descended on the cabin. Within moments they could hear them clawing at the walls all around them, screaming and growling. Eir ran to the door and reached for the wooden bar. Bryn jumped up and grabbed her and she fought to get free.
“Angel! No!” she screamed, then they heard the horses squealing outside.
Eir screamed and tried to get loose but Bryn sat on the floor holding her until she stopped struggling and started sobbing. Cerberus was leaning against the door holding his battle-axe, sweat beading on his brow and Starcaller was holding the shutters on the window closed, staring at the floor.
“What now?” Cerberus said.
Starcaller looked over to him. “Now we pray.”
Dwarves
‘Races of Eteria’ from ‘Eterialumen 1320th year since the cataclysm’
Dwarves are a short, stout race that live exclusively on the second continent of Eteria, deep below the Kotari Mountains to the east. Dwarves are slightly more advanced than humans and are famous for crafting exquisite armor. Dwarves are masters of combat, smithing and enchanting. As a race they mainly keep to themselves, rarely venturing outside their underground kingdoms, unless it involves trade or profit. Apart from weapon and armor enchanting, Dwarves have little to no magickal ability. Dwarves have exceptional vision, even in pitch darkness, as a result of evolution.
E.
IX
A Light in the Dark
Durandal forgot to take a breath before he hit the surface, moments after his horse. The freezing water almost made him black out as he sank to the bottom of the river, drifting in the current. He bounced off the rough surface below and jerked back suddenly as his cape got caught on a jagged rock. He untied the cape from his neck and began drifting again. Frantically he un-strapped the sides of his cuirass and squirmed his way out, pulling off his chainmail and gloves at the same time. He kicked his steel boots off and swam to the surface as his vision started to dim.