by Dale Britton
"These weapons are really expensive," Johnny said. Everything's at least five hundred gold."
"Of course," said the vendor. "Magical items are very rare. They are almost impossible to find."
"Do you have any spellbooks?" Ollie asked.
"Yes, of course." The elf led Ollie to a shelf in the back of the stall, which held several leather-bound books. Ollie found one written in English and pulled it off the shelf. His eyes lit up when he read the title.
"How much for this one?" Ollie asked.
"No less than five gold, I am afraid." The vendor said.
"But it's only worth one," Ollie countered.
"Very well. I will part with it for three gold pieces."
"Deal."
"Hey, Ollie," George called, "come check out the clearance table."
A clearance table? In a magic shop? Ollie had to see this.
The table contained a rusty dagger, A book that was missing half its pages, some random potion ingredients, and other items that didn't look very useful. George was examining a small vial that held maybe an ounce of liquid. The bottle was made of deep blue crystal.
"What's this?" George asked.
"I do not know," the vendor acknowledged. "I bought it as part of a lot in an estate sale. The label was missing, and I have not managed to identify it. And no one will buy a potion if they do not know what it will do."
"It's not poison, is it?" George asked.
The vendor spoke in an offended tone. "No, of course not. Poisons are quite easy to identify. It is a magical potion. I just do not know what exact properties it might possess. It is an exotic mixture. If you would like to take a chance, I would sell it for one gold. A true bargain for a magic potion."
"We'll take it," George said.
"George..." Ollie started.
"I just have a feeling, Ollie," George said. He was staring at the little bottle with excitement.
Ollie sighed. "All right." He paid the vendor six gold pieces, and they left before they could be tempted to buy anything else.
They met the girls a few minutes later. "Hey guys," Sarah said. "Wait till you see the dresses we bought!"
Chapter Fifty
The group returned to Lylor's home for lunch and were happy to find Lylor there waiting for them.
"The council would like to meet with you," he said. "They want to hear everything you can tell them about the demon lord. It was difficult, but Imoneas and I were able to convince them of the danger we face. They are familiar with Father Peter as well. They realize that if you were brought to our world by his Summoning, then you are important to our survival. We are to return to the council chamber in an hour."
"I guess we'll have to wait until later to show off our new clothes," Sarah said.
Jordan seemed more relieved than disappointed.
The next three hours were interminable. The group was forced to sit in front of the council and answer question after question about the demon lord, and what they knew of his plans. They told the elves everything they knew about this particular demon, which was actually quite a bit. The specifications of each demon lord had been spelled out in detail in the game, right down to each specific power and ability that he possessed. They could also tell about the workings of the portal, and how the demon planned to open it and allow his armies to pass through. The only questions they couldn't answer were where exactly to find the demon, and how they could possibly defeat it.
"I hadn't gotten that far yet," Ian said apologetically. "I thought I'd have plenty of time to fill in the details later."
"I shall say it again," said Elallin, "The only logical action is retreat. We must abandon our settlement and save our lives. There are others much better equipped than us to face this evil."
Imoneas shook his head. "No, Elallin. If we flee the demon, we will only gain a temporary reprieve, and we will lose every advantage that these humans have given us."
"It's true," Ollie said. "Once Alakabal opens his portal to the underworld he'll be almost impossible to defeat. He'll have an unlimited army of demons to fight for him. He'll overrun the world. That's what happened last time, and many thousands died before he was sent back to the underworld. If he's going to be defeated, it has to be now."
"Is there any other knowledge that you possess that may help us?" Lylor asked.
"What about the map?" Jordan said.
"What map is this?" Lylor asked.
"Oh, right," Ollie said. "I totally forgot about the map." He reached into a pocket and pulled out the parchment Wendall had given them. "Tell them about this, Ian."
"Well, the way I was planning it, the leaders of the outpost would provide a map that showed five locations where suspicious activity had been reported. The party would need to go to those places, and they would find clues that would help them to win the encounter, or maybe find objects they would need to win. Like I said before, I hadn't worked it all out yet."
"And when we got here," Johnny interjected, "Wendall–he's a magic user at the outpost–he gave this to us. See?" He pointed at the marks on the map. "Five locations, just like Ian planned."
"That does appear to be much more than a coincidence." Imoneas studied the map carefully. "These locations are all found in the northern region–very dangerous territory at the present time. But it does follow logic. We have not succeeded in tracing the exact origins of the creatures who beset us each night, but we have been able to ascertain that their provenance is the north."
"I had planned for the demon lord to be in the north," Ian said. "I just hadn't pinpointed an exact location. I was going to have Johnny build a tower or something."
"A tower, you say?" Imoneas asked. "Interesting. There are indeed rumors of a dark tower that is located somewhere in the northern mountains, but those that have seen it have been unable to find it again."
"Why?" Sarah asked. "Do they forget where it is?"
"No." Lylor's voice dropped almost too low to be heard. "According to the accounts, all those who have seen it have been driven completely insane."
Chapter Fifty-One
"That sounds like the place," George said.
Sarah hugged herself, shivering. "Can we go home now?"
Imoneas gazed on her with sympathy. "I am afraid that our magic users have been unable to find a method to break the geas that has been placed upon you."
"Geas?" Johnny asked.
"Mission. Responsibility. Obligation." Ollie said. "Until our task is complete, we can't go home."
"But do we have to be the ones to complete it?" Ian asked. "What if the elves figure out a way to beat the demon lord without our help? Or with the help we've already given them?"
"That may indeed be sufficient," Imoneas said. "However, if you were drawn here by the Summoning, then I fear that more of your involvement will most likely be required. Success may very well be impossible without you."
"So, we're forced to fight a demon lord?" George said. "Just to let you all know, that probably isn't going to turn out very well."
"In the game, there would be a way to win," Ollie said.
"There's also the chance of being turned to stone," George countered.
"Or burned to a crisp by a fire breathing dragon," Johnny added.
"Now, now," Imoneas said. "Let us not be rash. Dragons are incredibly rare, as are basilisks and gorgons."
"Not when we're playing," Ian said. "They're actually really common."
Imoneas held up his hand for silence before speaking again. "Here is what I propose." He pointed at one of the marks on the map. "This location is only a day's journey from our settlement. We can send a small hunting party to investigate. We have scouts that are familiar with the region, and they may be able to discover the significance of the location. It may well be that your presence is unnecessary."
"I volunteer to lead the party," Lylor said. "If there is anything to discover, I will find it."
"How does the council rule?" Imoneas asked.
There was
a quick vote, and the plan was unanimously approved, albeit reluctantly by Ellalin.
"Very good," Lylor said. "I will choose my companions this night, and we will leave in the morn."
The meeting adjourned and the party left to return to Lylor's dwelling for the night.
"I would make a suggestion," Lylor said to the teens. "It may well be that you will be in this world for a significant season. Have you visited the training center?"
"Not yet," Ollie said.
"I will leave word that you are to be welcome there," Lylor said. "It might be beneficial for you to receive some instruction in combat. As you know, this is a dangerous land."
"That's a great idea," Ollie said.
George shook his head despondently. "Maybe for you guys, but all the training in the world isn't going to help me."
Chapter Fifty-Two
After dinner, the girls were finally able to show off their purchases from earlier in the day. Sarah had bought three dresses, each more elaborate than the last. She was beautiful, of course. Ollie thought she looked like a fairy princess.
Yrabelle modeled a violet gown that matched her eyes. George couldn't help himself this time. He had to stare. The elf girl more than lived up to her name.
The real excitement, though, was when Sarah dragged Jordan into the room. Sarah had convinced her to take out her ponytail, and Jordan wore an actual dress. It was rather simple, solid green and without much in the way of adornment, but it transformed Jordan almost completely.
"Wow, Jordan," Ian said. "You look like a girl!"
Jordan glared at him, then turned and stalked out of the room.
Ollie glanced at Sarah. "I can't believe you got her to do that."
"Actually, it was Yrabelle," Sarah said.
"I can be very persuasive," the elf girl said, smiling. "Jordan needs to release her fear and her anger. I can perceive that she has endured much pain. I can only imagine what her state would be if she didn't have all of you to support her."
Later that night, when everyone else had gone to bed, Ollie pulled out the spellbook he had bought at the marketplace. He read the word on the cover again: "Shield." If he could learn this spell, well, it could turn out to be very useful. It didn't take long to realize this spell was much more complicated than the fire spell, but Ollie thought he could figure it out. The secret was that instead of using the energy he gathered to create fire, it was necessary to weave it together in a sort of net. The more energy you used, the stronger the shield would be. And using different modifications, you could make different types of shields to repel different types of attacks.
His study was interrupted when Sarah entered the room.
"I thought I might find you here. How's the studying coming?"
Ollie smiled tiredly. "Want to see? I think I'm about ready for a trial."
"Sure," Sarah said, "if it's anything like the fire spell, I totally want to see it."
"This one's different. Watch."
Ollie concentrated and spoke the new formula. The energy draw was even greater than it was for the fire spell. It took several minutes for him to form the shield.
"Um, is anything happening?" Sarah asked.
"Hold on a minute," Ollie said. "Almost got it..." Strand by strand, he weaved the energy together. It was kind of like making a jigsaw puzzle. Finally, he thought the shield was complete.
"All right. Punch me in the stomach."
"What?"
"Just do it. And don't be wimpy."
"You're calling me wimpy? All right. You asked for it." Sarah pulled back her arm and swung at Ollie. It wasn't quite as hard as she was able to swing, but still pretty hard. About a foot from Ollie, her hand hit the shield. It was like punching a sheet of plastic wrap. It gave for several inches but would not let her hand through.
"Whoa," she said. She hit the shield several more times but couldn't reach Ollie.
"With practice, I should be able to make it bigger, and strong enough to protect us from all sorts of attacks. But I need to be able to bring it up faster. It won't be very useful if it takes five minutes to cast the spell."
Sarah was still pounding in vain against the shield.
"You can stop trying to hit me now," Ollie said. "I can't hold it anymore."
He released the shield and nearly collapsed from the expenditure of energy. Sarah put her arm around him for support. Her touch made him feel weak in a different way.
"That is so cool! Do you think it would work in our world?"
"I've been wondering that too," Ollie said. "It seems like the principles should be the same. I mean, it looks supernatural, but there's actually a lot of science in it. I guess we won't know for sure until we get back home."
"Do you think we will?" Sarah asked. "Get home, I mean. This is a great vacation spot and all, but I'd kind of like to go back to a place where something isn't trying to kill me every time I turn around."
"We got here," Ollie said. "So, we can get back. It's only logical."
"You know, when I hear you say that, it's easy to believe it." She held him a little tighter. "If I had to get drawn into a killer fantasy world, I'm glad you're here."
If Sarah hadn't still been supporting him, Ollie would have turned away. He was sure his face was bright red. "I'm sorry you're stuck here with us, Sarah. I'm sure you had better things to do than playing a stupid role-playing game with a bunch of nerds. And then this happens..."
"Ollie, " Sarah interrupted. "It's alright. It's not your fault I'm here. And you know what?"
"What?"
"You're actually a pretty great guy. You're only really missing one thing."
Ollie could think of about a hundred things he was missing right off of the top of his head, but he took the bait. "What's that?"
Sarah kissed him on the cheek. "Confidence."
She stood up. "Goodnight, Ollie. Don't stay up too late casting spells."
She was almost out the door before Ollie was capable of answering.
"Goodnight, Sarah."
Chapter Fifty-Three
Everyone was up early the next day, but even so, Lylor was already gone. He had left at the crack of dawn, hoping to make it to his destination before nightfall and return the next day. It wasn't safe to travel at night, even when there weren't demons roaming about. Lately, many people had disappeared while outside the settlement. Some could have been attacked by more mundane monsters, but very likely many had been taken by the demons to work in the mines of Alakabal. If the demon lord wasn't stopped, they were fated to be sacrificed by the demons to open the portal to the underworld.
After breakfast, Yrabelle led the group to the training center. It consisted of a large open area surrounded by bleacher-like seating and several small buildings. Elves were sparring with each other at various spots on the field, while onlookers watched and occasionally cheered a particularly skillful maneuver. On the opposite end of the field, archers were practicing with targets.
"We're really going to stand out here," Johnny said. "And not in a good way."
As they approached the training field, an elf walked up to greet them.
"Welcome, humans," he said. "Lylor informed me that you would be visiting today. He asked me to supervise your training. My name is Vesperr."
"Vesperr is in charge of all training in the settlement," Yrabelle said. "He will make all of you master swordsmen in no time at all."
Vesperr laughed. "Let us not run before we can walk, dear child. Nobody becomes a master in a day."
After having the visitors introduce themselves, Vesperr led them to a storeroom where weapons and armor were arrayed on the wall and in various cabinets. Many of the swords and daggers were blunted for use in sparring.
"The first thing we will do is work on defensive techniques," the elf said. "You must learn how to counter attacks. Have any of you worked with a shield?"
Everyone shook their heads. Vesperr sighed. "Well, it appears that you are true novices. Hopefully, I can impart enough knowle
dge to allow you to survive in the wilds."
He passed out practice swords and shields to the humans. It was embarrassing for George. The only shield light enough for him to use was a small one most likely intended for a child.
"I've been meaning to start lifting weights," he said, trying to avoid Yrabelle's eyes. Ian kept from snickering with a superhuman effort.
The morning was a trial. After only three hours of training and practice, everybody was exhausted and covered with bruises. George had been knocked down more times than he could count. For each of them, it was a very humbling experience. At home, when they played the game, they pictured themselves as great heroes who could battle terrifying monsters and defeat them with ease. Here, anyone with a sword could make them look silly. It was by far the worst for George. He wanted to impress Yrabelle so badly, but no matter how hard he tried he always ended up lying on the ground looking up at his sparring partner.
"Well, that went well," Johnny said when Vesperr finally called for a break. "Pretty soon, we might be able to beat a goat."
"Do not lose heart," Vesperr said. "You are only beginning. Under my tutelage, you will become warriors in no time at all."
It was a somewhat somber lunch break. The elvish honey cakes did wonders for renewing their energy, but they did nothing to improve their mood. In much too short a time, Vesperr called them back to the field.
"I didn't sign up for this," Ian grumbled.
"Training is a lot easier in the game," George said. "It only takes a minute."
"And it doesn't make your arms feel like they're about to fall off," Ollie added.
"Don't complain," Sarah said. "This might save your life. Besides, did you ever think that someday you would end up training with elvish fighters? Talk about something to tell your grandkids!"
"How can she possibly be so positive?" Johnny said. "I feel like lying down and dying."