by K. M. Bonde
Elora nods. “Let’s go inside the cave, now!”
Drake is now close to both the dark general and Nevrik. The Dark General, Drake thinks, smiling as a new plan grows in his mind. The thief looks at his new target, focusing on the general’s movements. If I could take down this dark general, it would be a heavy blow to Grimdar’s forces. He feels the blood pumping as a wild beast before attacking its prey. He takes out his daggers, Quick and Death, and holds one in front of him, the other slightly behind his back as he silently moves toward the dark general.
At the sight of his master, Nevrik freezes, then bows and apologizes. The dark general looks, dark red eyes filled with anger. “It is beyond repair, Nevrik. My master wants results, not excuses. You have served me well in the past, but it is time for this to end.”
Nevrik bows more. “Please, master,” he says, his voice cracking. “Give me another chance to prove my worth! I found the party your master is looking for, and the girl is here. They are here fighting and helping the Wolf.” He points toward the battle in the camp.
Surprised, the dark general turns around. Seeing the battle, he smiles. “Ah, finally, I can prove my place as the top general.” With a flick of his wrists, he sends a wave of fire over the battle field, killing both raiders and bandits.
Eadric pulls his sword from a dead bandit and throws himself toward the cave opening, barely escaping the fire. Elora and Arddun have already managed to get to the cave, and the rest of the party is right behind them.
The Baron, surprised by the newcomer in the battle field, yells to him to stop. “We’re on your side, general!”
His distraction is just enough time for a Raider to hit him with an arrow. Angry and injured, he rushes for his horse, and the Wolf and the rest of his men flee the camp.
Drake, seeing his opportunity, jumps out of his hiding. But even with all his finesse and stealth training, the dark general still senses him and turns, just able to avoid having his throat slit. Instead, Drake puts one dagger in the general’s shoulder and one in his arm. They both fall to the ground, but Drake is quick to his feet and ready to strike when Elora calls out to him, not by yelling from the cave, but in his head.
Drake, she says, hurry to the cave, we’re leaving.
He shakes his head in disbelief, then runs off, leaving the dark general paralyzed on the ground. Soon, Elora’s party hurry into the depths of the cave, desperate to find the exit on the other side.
* * *
Nevrik scrambles to his feet, standing next to the dark general. The dark general glares at Nevrik. “Heal my arm and shoulder so I can move again,” he orders.
The daggers must have struck a vital nerve, he cannot move his arms. Nevrik looks at him with a cold face, feeling overpowered by the darkness that spreads inside of him. I’ll never be free unless I do something, he thinks. He tilts his head, giving the general an eerie grin. “Master, I think you are right. It’s time for this to end.”
Nevrik stands above him, and while his insidious shadow falls upon his prey, he unleashes a massive icicle through the chest of his former master. The dark general twitches and makes a gurgling sound, then he goes still.
Nevrik's empty lifeless and cold eyes stares at the body beneath him, the dark power inside him surging. It seems to grow stronger every time he kills or uses his powers. Nevrik steps away from the corpse, veering toward his horse when the Baron suddenly comes up with his horse.
“What have you done?” yells the Baron. “We are all doomed now. Grimdar will kill us all!”
Nevrik mostly ignores him, “Don't yell at me. It’s been a bad day, and I have already been yelled at.”
The Baron does not seem to care and keeps yelling at him. “How can you be so stupid? Killing a dark general?”
Nevrik waves his hand, setting the Baron ablaze. The Baron screams in pain, running around the camp trying to get rid of the fire that is engulfing him. He soon falls on the ground and goes still.
Nevrik gets up on his horse and rides out of the camp. “I told you not to yell at me.”
Chapter 29: The Escape
“Here,” Elora says, pointing to a path behind the Wolf’s room in the cave.
The party enters further into the cave, and their path is quite straight, only going one direction. How fortunate, Elora thinks. This would have been a mess if we had multiple tunnels like in the sewers.
Arddun comes up next to Elora. “Is something on your mind? That was a lot for you to take in.”
Elora sighs, then meets Arddun’s gaze. “Yes. Can you explain the portals? How do they really work?” she asks. “When I saw the general come out of one, it reminded me of something from my old world. People tried to move objects from one place to another, but it was never possible. Isn’t it dangerous?”
Arddun smiles. “No, it’s quite safe,” she says. “Before he left, Bruce told me your world has very advanced technology. Here, we use magic and the raw power of the Stream to teleport, and that holds all of it together. A portal is like a doorway, you just enter and exit at the same time, nothing happens to you. A great wizard once told me that beyond our realm, in the Stream itself, there is a power connecting the opening of a portal and the exit, no matter the distance.”
Elora’s eyebrows knit together. Seeing her confused look, Arddun continues. “Let's put it like this. Imagine a person sitting in the Stream or another realm. That person sees both the entry portal and the exit portal when it opens. He quickly pulls the two together so they connect and become one doorway. When you walk through, it would be like walking through a doorway in this world. If the entry and exit are not connected in the Stream, you would end up inside the Stream and die instantly since no living thing can exist there.”
“I guess that makes sense, thanks,” Elora says, even though she’s not sure she understands the explanation.
Elof and Eadric have made their way to the end of the path and yell for the others. “We can see the exit, come quickly!”
Drake, who has been talking to Ryan about Elora and their home world, suddenly dashes ahead and grabs Elof's axe so hard that Elof gets stuck and cannot take another step.
Elof growls. “What do you think you are doing? Get your hands off my axe!”
Drake releases Elof's axe and points to the ledge in front of him. “That would have been a bloody mess if you had continued, and I would not have ventured down there to get your gear.”
Elof turns around and gazes at the small ledge outside, peeking over the ledge and seeing death below. The ground isn’t even visible from here. “Well, I guess… thank you,” he mumbles.
Eadric laughs. “I guess not even your axe would have saved you from that fall. The thief saved the life of the mighty warrior.”
Elof grunts again and motions for Drake to pass.
Drake moves slowly, peering over the edge. “Everyone has to be calm and slow on the ledge as you make your way forward. It’s a treacherous walkway along the side of pass and it is windy.”
They continue around a bend, dodging falling rocks.
“Stay still!” Arddun yells.
The party pauses until everything goes still again, then they continue. Soon, they are safe on solid ground again, above the forest they came through earlier. More rocks are falling and now they can hear something coming over the rocky parts of the mountain they were just inside.
Preparing for a fight, Eadric grips his sword. “I really hope it’s not a bear.”
A big furry animal comes running over the rocks, and Elora grins, running toward it.
“Felan!” Elora hugs the beast and whispers, “I missed you. You must have sensed me in the cave the whole time.”
Drake looks around, realizing one of their party members is missing. “But wait, where is Kvenalon?”
They all look and cannot see him, so Drake goes back to the ledge and there he is, slowly making his way forward. Soon, he has made it to the rest of the party.
“Don't mind me,” the healer says. “It w
as such a nice view from there, I wanted to take my time.” He mutters to himself so no one else hears. “I hate heights, this is why I live on a small island with no mountains.”
Ryan and Elora hold their hands as they emerge from the forest. They are once again on the road toward the bridge and cannot wait to finally reach safety in the mountains with the Mountain Clan. The land around them seems peaceful now, so green and lush. Elof is polishing his axe as he walks, and Drake is talking to Arddun about Elora and her powers. They travel the path ahead of them and make their way to open land again, not far from where they were taken by the raiders earlier.
Eadric sighs and points ahead. “Let's move fast so we can make it over the bridge before anything more happens that will slow us down. We can rest as soon as we reach the tower.”
***
Meanwhile, a large army marches into Flaxan. The help that Eadric was promised from the city is nowhere to be found; they lied to him, but with the villagers already safely tucked away in the caves, the Dark Army has no one to attack
The Dark Army and its monsters storm through the village, ransacking most of the houses for food and water.
The Azurghoul, seeing the village is abandoned, shouts at his army. “Move your lazy butts! There is no one here, they have already fled.” He points toward the mountains. “Move, you lazy vermin! We must to reach the mountains before they do.”
Bruce, watching the destruction unfold below the hill, shakes his head. He goes back to the cave and finds Alric. “There is something I need to do. Keep everyone safe while I’m gone.”
Chapter 30: The Hills
Grimdar has just reached the throne room when he feels an intense pain. “Get my daughter immediately!” he shouts to the soldiers behind him.
He marches through the barren and cold throne room and slowly sits down on the throne. It’s a dark throne made up of a black metal and some sort of red filling that looks like blood. The stories say the metal fell from the sky a long time ago and that Grimdar used his powers to form a throne. He didn’t like the bright and beautiful throne that the old king had, so Grimdar threw it out along with the other righteous items the old king had collected.
Grimdar pets a beast sitting next to the throne, one that looks like a mix between a wolf and a lizard.
The door burst open and Firestorm enters the room, stopping when she reaches the throne. “You called for me, father?” She looks at her father expectantly, petting the beast while she does. It seems to like her more than him.
Grimdar stands up and points toward the empty room. “Do you notice something missing here?”
She looks around. The candelabras that decorate the room are still there, as are the other dark and gloomy decorations. The only difference is that sunlight filters through the windows, the dark curtains not drawn today. Firestorm shrugs. “No, not really. Why?”
“I felt a terrible blow to the dark force,” Grimdar says. “One of my generals died.”
“I know, father. I felt the disturbance as well.”
Grimdar motions toward the empty room again. “He should have been here now with that pesky wizard's head, right there on the floor in front of me.”
“What do you need from me father?” Firestorm asks.
Grimdar looks at her for a moment, his eyes mixed with power, rage, and affection for his daughter. “I want you to get me his head and make whoever killed my general suffer.”
“It will be done, father.” Firestorm turns around and walks out of the room.
Grimdar returns to his throne and sits down, petting his beast’s head.
* * *
“Grimdar will come for me,” mutters Nevrik as he packs some of his lab’s supplies into a bag. “I need to leave, and soon at that.”
He won’t stand a chance against the dark lord, and Nevrik knows it. He must flee toward the mountains; there, he can stay hidden and hopefully wait this out.
“But I still need the dagger from the girl,” he mutters. “It’s my only chance at saving my own skin.”
He pauses for a moment before closing his bag. “They’re going to the tower,” he chuckles to himself. “Of course! That’s where I’ll get that damn weapon back.”
As he prepares to leave his lab under the city, he looks over his shoulder. Then, he smiles wickedly to himself. “Look out, little queen,” he snarls as he steps out of his lair and into the city.
* * *
“Are we there yet?” asks Elora, tired. The group has made good progress and are headed directly to the pass. But the day is passing quickly, and they’ll need to rest soon.
“Not yet,” says Arddun. “Be patient.”
Elora sighs and trudges on. Not much later, Ryan points ahead of the group.
“There’s fire up ahead!” he exclaims.
Eadric comes up and puts a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Ryan. We can avoid that fire. It does not move, nor does it ever die out.”
Ryan and Elora look at each other, then they look at Eadric. “What?” they ask in unison.
As they walk toward the hill, Eadric explains. “We will soon be at the Ever-Burning Hills. The war and all of the magic used during that conflict started this fire. Not only did it shatter the ground and split it in many places, but it also set fire to the hills nearby. They have been burning ever since. It is a magical fire, a remembrance of what came to pass a long time ago.”
They make their way up the hill and before them, the burning hills and fields appear. It’s a strange sight, seeing everything engulfed in fire, but not the kind of fire that Ryan and Elora are used to. There is no smoke, and the color of the fire isn’t hot. Instead, it’s more of a dark purple, traces of red and orange flickering in and out.
Eadric points beyond the fires. “There lies the three-way post with the Great River Rivona. It should be a good spot to camp for the night. Beyond the river, you’ll see another marvelous phenomenon caused by the war. It’s a place that people have come to for a long time, to just sit and look at the marvels of nature.”
Elora’s heart pounds at they pass around the fire. Even though it’s magical, the fire would still burn their skin. It’s not like in one of those fantasy movies where you can just pass through it without getting hurt. Everything is so real here, so much more vibrant than my old world, Elora thinks. Even with all the darkness, this world is held together by something greater than the people and creatures living here, a symbiosis the other world didn’t have. But this is my world now, and I will protect it and all its wonders.
Much to Elora’s surprise, the Ever-Burning Hills are more than just a few hills. It’s a huge area encompassing many hills and fields. They take their time circumventing the flames, enjoying the peacefulness of it all. For such a large fire, it’s very peaceful and quiet.
Arddun cannot help but to notice how the fire bends toward Elora at times. “Do you feel it,” she asks Elora.
Elora nods. “It’s strange, but I feel warm, and I’ve even been able to create a few small fires myself.” To show Arddun, Elora focuses on the fire around her and a tiny flame forms in her palm.
Arddun smiles. “Your powers are still awakening, and the closer we get to the mountain, the stronger your connection with fire will grow. Fire lives in the mountain.”
The red stone, Elora thinks. I must be feeling the red stone. Elora reaches out and touches the fire that bends toward her. It tickles a little but nothing more, no burning or destruction. It’s almost as if Elora is petting the fire. She giggles and coaxes some flames out to her hand.
Elof sees it and touches the fire as well, but it stings terribly and burns the skin on his fingers. He yells out and retracts his hand from the fire. He mumbles to himself. “Typical, those magic wielders and their powers. Only us non-magical folks get burned.”
They soon reach the river, even though it’s growing dark, the view is phenomenal. Elora sighs happily and turns to Ryan. “I love this world,” she says, and he nods.
Chapter 31: The
River
Near the River Rivona, there are several small camp sites, making it a convenient and remarkably beautiful place to sleep.
The party unpacks what they need for the night and make a small fire. The fire soon sparkles and rises to the sky, warming the group around it.
Eadric and Ryan trade stories, with Eadric telling Elora about Bruce and Catherine and Ryan telling the rest of the party about Elora when they were younger. Stories from two worlds, told by two very different people, Elora thinks as she eats dinner. I never imagined I’d be here. But the stories of her parents make her smile, and even Ryan’s embarrassing stories from their school days make her laugh along with her new friends.
Before bedtime, Eadric shares another poem from the time of war. “It used to be sung here during the war,” he starts, gazing up into the night. “Nowadays, it’s mostly told as a story.”
As the party listens to him, they move closer to the fire to catch some more warmth from the dying flames. Elora gazes to the sky while listening. The sky is full of stars looking down at them, protecting them, and keeping them company.
From the third volume, Endless Night.
Night has come, day has passed
Fear for some, that will last
Joyful is he, who stands free
Merciful it be, wait to see
Arrow and bow, aim for beast
Blood will flow, heroes to feast
Tomorrow we rise, arms to all
Gain our prize, monsters will fall
The next morning, they wake up to something they have not had in a while: peace. Water hums along in perfect symbiosis with the birds’ songs, and the sun begins to rise over the horizon.
Elora reaches over and kisses Ryan good morning, then she stretches and walks down to the water. Arddun is standing near the water, looking toward the horizon. Already up, Elora thinks. Does she ever sleep?
Felan is already up, too, and is near Arddun, drinking water. The River Rivona’s water is very clear and clean. Elora bends down, cupping her hands to drink some of the cool water.