by Dale Britton
Chapter Eighty-Nine
Ollie looked down over the edge of the valley at the strange sight below. He couldn't imagine a less friendly looking place to visit, but unfortunately, this was where the map had led them.
It had been less than a twenty-mile ride to this last marked position. This was short enough for the horses to make in one day, especially since the group was able to ride much more quickly now. One fewer rider meant that they didn't have to share horses. Just the fact that the horses had remained safe inside the ward while the group had been in the dungeon was a small miracle. Overall, however, it had been a very somber journey. They were all mourning the loss of Yrabelle, especially George. He had made the entire journey in complete silence while staring straight ahead as they rode through the freezing and dying landscape. It made for an awkward trip.
"What the heck is that?" Sarah whispered. She leaned forward for a better view of the strange conglomeration of mismatched buildings that grew crookedly out of the earth. It looked like something a small child might make with his toy building blocks. A very untalented small child. There was movement as well–small dark shapes that passed back and forth among the misshapen structures–but the group was too far away to get a very clear look.
"I don't know," Ollie answered. He was trying to think of a creature in the game that would live in a place like this, but he kept coming up blank. The little creatures reminded him of goblins, except they were too small, and as far as Ollie knew goblins only lived underground. Sunlight was deadly to them. "What do you think, George?"
George looked like he was about to jump over the ridge and single-handedly charge the strange settlement. As Ollie watched, his friend took a deep breath and visibly forced himself to be calm.
"Well, I don't think they're undead. And they're too small to be goblins but too big to be kobolds."
Ollie nodded. He hadn't thought of kobolds.
"Really, I don't see what the cat people were so worried about," George said. "Those things don't look very scary from here."
When Ollie had told the leader of the cat people where they were heading in hopes of learning something about their destination, the reaction had not been very comforting. The leader had started shaking, and even though his face was completely covered with fur it had somehow grown pale. He had refused to speak of this place, instead breaking out into a litany of prayers.
"You of all people should know better than to underestimate the monsters in this world," Ollie said. "Some of the smallest ones are the most dangerous. We can't help Yrabelle if we kill ourselves by doing something stupid."
"There are more of them now," Sarah said. "I think they might be nocturnal."
"I think you're right," Ollie said. There were dozens of the things now, moving at random over the structure like a bunch of ants. "They don't really seem to be accomplishing anything, do they?"
"Look over there," George said, pointing to a small, sad-looking grove of twenty or so trees about halfway between the structure and the group's vantage point. A few of the creatures had gathered among the trees and were cavorting around. They were almost dancing, except the way they were moving was somehow revolting.
"Where did they come from?" Ollie wondered.
"About four feet tall, right?" Sarah said. "And how many arms do they have? I'm counting six each."
"I don't get it," Ollie said. He felt a chill that had nothing to do with the setting sun. "I've never even heard of anything like these things."
"It's getting dark," Sarah said. "We should head back to camp."
Ollie nodded. "Okay. If they're really nocturnal, it would be a lot better to go in during the day. Maybe we can sneak in while they're sleeping and find the gem."
The three friends slowly backed away from the ridge. When they had retreated far enough to be safely out of view, they stood up and turned around to head back.
The two creatures appeared out of nowhere, melting out of the shadows in front of them. They opened their mouths to an impossible width, displaying hundreds of needle-like teeth. Their skin was slick and gray. Their eyes were black holes.
The monsters screamed silently and rushed forward.
Chapter Ninety
The creatures moved impossibly fast, but not as fast as Sarah, who had retrieved her ring from George after the battle with the demons. She disappeared in a blur, and in moments the two creatures were lying on the ground, a weird orange-colored blood pooling around their bodies.
"Wow," Ollie said with no small amount of pride. "You're not like other girls, Sarah."
Sarah blushed at the compliment. "Is it weird that I'm getting used to being attacked by horrible creatures? I mean, these things are terrifying. I should have run away screaming."
Ollie laughed. "You probably would have if this had happened when we first got here. I think we're all changing." He glanced at George. "Some of us more than others."
"Um, guys," George said. "We have a little problem here."
Ollie and Sarah turned to look at the creatures.
"What's wrong?" Ollie asked, but then he saw. The creatures weren't dead. Sarah had inflicted dozens of wounds on the monsters with the incredible speed granted to her by the ring. But now, even as Ollie watched, the cuts were closing. In moments they had disappeared completely.
"They're healing," Sarah said. "Watch out!"
The creatures began to twitch, and one of them lifted its head. George stepped forward, swung his sword almost casually and sliced the thing's head clean off of its body. He then repeated the action with the second creature.
"There. That should do it."
But he was wrong. Only moments after collapsing to the ground, both the bodies and heads of the creatures began to shudder, and black smoke started to ooze out of their wounds.
"What's happening?" Sarah asked, backing away from the noxious fumes.
"They're regenerating," Ollie said. "Look–the bodies are growing new heads."
"Not only that," George said. "The heads are growing new bodies. There's gonna be four of them."
Ollie was starting to see why the cat people were so afraid of these monsters. He was starting to get pretty scared himself. How could you fight creatures that came back to life every time you killed them? And how did they even do it? It had to be some kind of magic. Of course. Magic.
"One more thing to try," Ollie said. He concentrated and called forth the fire. It was so easy to cast the spell. The fire almost seemed to be a part of him now. He split the ball into four and sent the fire at the four black smoking masses that writhed on the ground. He poured as much energy as he could into the fireballs and was rewarded for his efforts. The creatures burst into ugly orange spurts of flame and dissolved into black puddles. The smell was horrible, like someone had set fire to a pile of garbage, dead animals, and rotten eggs, but the fire was effective. Even though Ollie stared for several minutes after the flames had died down, there was no movement from the black splotches.
"Let's get out of here before more of them show up," Ollie said, and the group quickly retreated back to their camp. The horses were calm and there was no further sign of monsters. As soon as they were all inside the spell's perimeter Ollie set out a warding cube and activated it.
"Will the ward keep them out?" Sarah asked.
"I hope so," Ollie said. "If we're lucky the other ones don't know we're here."
George was staring out into the darkness back in the direction they had just come from. "I don't see anything, but they're out there. I can feel them."
Ollie shook his head. "I just wish I knew what they are. There's nothing like them in the game." Strangely, this was the thing that bothered him the most. Not the fact that the creatures were supernaturally fast, had literally hundreds of teeth and were just about the freakiest thing he had ever seen. He had grown used to knowing just about everything about this world, yet here he had encountered something totally alien. It was disturbing.
"It doesn't matter," George said. "We're
going in there tomorrow, and we're getting that gem."
But Ollie shook his head. "No. We're not going in there. I am."
Chapter Ninety-One
The morning greeted the party with bright sunlight and a frigid wind. Ollie scanned the empty space that stretched out for over a hundred yards in front of the weird buildings.
"I don't see any of them. Maybe they're all sleeping." There had been no sign of the creatures during the night. There hadn't been any sign of demons either, which seemed strange after how diligent they had been at stalking the party. Ollie thought it might be because the battle in the dungeon had thinned the demons' ranks to the point that there weren't enough of them left in the area.
"I don't like this," Sarah said. "You shouldn't go in there alone."
Ollie sighed. "We've already gone over this. I'm the only one who can kill them. I'll have the ring, so they won't be able to catch me if I'm seen. Plus, I have the charm."
He held up the amulet father Peter had given him at the beginning of their journey. It sparkled in the bright sunlight. He had completely forgotten about it during their battle with the demons in the dungeon, but looking back, he thought it had to have been at least partially responsible for their survival. How else could he have made it through the entire fight without a single scratch?
"I know." Sarah stared off at the lopsided buildings. "We agreed with you, remember? That doesn't mean I need to like it. That place gives me the creeps. I can't believe you're actually going in there."
"Yeah, me neither." Ollie grabbed Sarah's hands and turned her to face him. "Look, Sarah, I have to go, but..."
Sarah cut him off. "Don't say it. You are going to go in there, you're going to find the gem, and you're coming back. All right?"
Ollie smiled, though somewhat sadly. "All right, Sarah. I'll be back in no time."
Sarah wouldn't let it go at that. "Look at me," she said stubbornly. She put her hands on both sides of his face and turned his head to look directly into his eyes. "You are going to do this. We are going to get Yrabelle back, and we're going to win. I don't know how, but we will." She stared into his eyes as if searching for something. "You can do it, Ollie. You are literally the smartest and bravest person I've ever met." Ollie looked like he was about to argue, but she put her finger on his lips to cut off what he was about to say. "I know what 'literally' means, and I meant exactly what I said."
This time Ollie laughed. "You're pretty amazing yourself Sarah."
Sarah pulled him into a hug and held him tight. She put her head on his shoulder. "Just be careful, okay?"
"Okay." Ollie wished he could just stay there holding her forever. As it was, he didn't let go for nearly a minute before breaking away. He wanted to kiss her but thought it would be too much like a goodbye forever kiss. He was coming back.
"Make sure George doesn't come after me. I'll be right back."
As he turned and started toward the city, he couldn't help thinking how insane this was. What was he thinking? He wasn't a hero. He didn't have any idea where to look for the gem in that place. And what if the creatures weren't asleep? He couldn't face all of them all by himself, no matter what magic he had.
But then he thought about Yrabelle. He thought about Lylor and everyone else he had met in this world. He was the only one who could help them now. And he'd made it this far, right?
All right, enough stalling. Like his mom liked to say, "sooner begun, sooner done."
Ollie took a deep breath, looked back to Sarah one more time, activated the ring, and took off like a rocket into the valley.
Chapter Ninety-Two
Using the ring was an exhilarating experience. The effects of the spell didn't stop at Ollie's arms and legs, but somehow affected his eyes and even his brain. Even though he was moving faster than anyone could see, he was still able to discern details of the terrain he raced through. It wasn't much to look at. Other than the small grove of trees he and the others had seen last night, it was completely devoid of vegetation. Ollie could see signs that the trees here had been purposely cleared, probably to give the inhabitants of the city a clear view of the surrounding area.
That meant they were most likely watching, and if Ollie paused for even a moment, he would be seen. He had to be really careful. Unlike Sarah and George, he hadn't used the ring extensively. He didn't know how long he could go without resting, though he could already feel the strain the ring put on him. If he ran out of energy at the wrong time... It hit Ollie again just how dangerous this little escapade was.
For now, at least, nothing in the city was moving, even though Ollie couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching. There was such a sense of oppressiveness here. Even though the sun was shining, it felt like a shadow hung over the whole world.
As Ollie approached the city, he was surprised to find that it wasn't made up of a group of separate buildings at all but was actually one huge structure, designed by an insane architect. It was made of every material imaginable, including logs, slabs of stone, adobe-like bricks, even piles of trash. One section, Ollie noticed with a sudden chill, was constructed entirely out of bones. Towers rose from random points at crooked angles. Sections thrust out from the side of the main towers precariously, looking like they might break off and fall to the ground at any given moment. Rough steps were carved into the outside walls, leading in every direction, sometimes even to dead ends. There was no rhyme or reason to this place.
And Ollie had to search it. Somewhere inside, he believed, was the artifact he needed to beat the demon lord and save his friends and the people of this world.
Focus on the plan. The first thing he needed to do was find a safe place where he could rest. He could not use the ring too much or he would pass out in the middle of all of these monsters, and then it would all be over. He needed a spot where he could hide and periodically regain his energy. A place inside the structure would be ideal. So, first step, he had to find a way in.
This turned out to be remarkably easy. The haphazard construction of the place had left dozens of gaps in the walls that were more than big enough for a large person to slip through, and Ollie was far from large. Some of the openings had well-worn paths leading up to them. Ollie chose a gap on the far side of the structure that seemed less well-traveled and dashed through it as fast as the ring would let him.
What greeted Ollie on the other side of the wall was a dizzying array of passages, doorways, and stairways that led off in every direction in no pattern he could recognize. He felt like he had been thrust into a giant-sized anthill. He had to be very careful moving here because the ground was uneven, with pieces of debris jutting up from every angle. The ceiling was low, and he was forced to bend over to fit through. This made keeping his balance even harder. He was really feeling the effects of the ring now. He needed to find a place to rest. Thus far he had seen no sign of the strange monsters, but he knew they were here somewhere.
He searched for a minute longer and found a stairway that led to an empty balcony. He decided to make this his base. It might be dangerous, placing himself in a dead-end like this, but he figured it wouldn't be a place where there was traffic, and as a last resort he had his fire spell, and could probably use the ring to run past anything that found him. Plus, it gave him a nice view of the valley.
What followed was the longest day of Ollie's life. He spent a miserable half-hour on the balcony to rebuild his strength. Every sound he heard gave him a heart attack. He expected the monsters to show up at any instant. Plus, it was horribly cold.
On his first trip out from the balcony, he found the monsters. At first, he didn't recognize them. They were black shapeless masses stuffed into the nooks and crannies of the walls and ceilings. But then he saw one of them yawn and saw the needle-like teeth glinting in the light that seeped through the cracks in the ceiling and walls. There were hundreds–no, thousands of the creatures. In some areas it was all Ollie could do to keep himself from tripping over one of them or brushing against
one. And it wasn't just creatures like the ones the party had encountered yesterday. There were dozens of different versions of the things. Some had fewer or more arms or even multiple heads. Some were smaller by comparison. A few were so large they barely fit in the hallways.
And not all of them were asleep. Most were, but occasionally he saw one moving through a hallway or climbing a stairway. On a few occasions, Ollie was forced to change direction to avoid running into one of these. Fortunately, they were unable to perceive him when he was moving super-fast with the ring. But if he were to stop for even a moment, or to trip and fall down... Ollie tried not to think about it.
As the day passed Ollie grew more and more exhausted, and the time he was able to spend on his searches got shorter and shorter. The ring was taking its toll. It took longer after each search to regain his strength. It got harder to concentrate on his movements. Ollie was terrified he would make a misstep and alert the monsters to his presence.
To make matters even worse, the structure was a veritable warren of passages and hallways, with no planning whatsoever. Just when Ollie thought he had figured it out, he would find himself hopelessly turned around. A few times when this happened, he started to panic, afraid that he wouldn't be able to find his hiding place again before collapsing from exhaustion, only to find his way back at the last minute.
He saw thousands of the monsters, but no sign of the fire gem. The day passed like a dream, the sun slowly crawling across the horizon. Ollie had been so certain he would succeed in finding the gem here, but now he began to doubt. As his weariness grew and the day passed, a feeling of hopelessness began to overcome him. This was impossible. He was going to be caught. He should run away while he still had the strength.
Ollie looked out into the valley from his perch on the balcony. He estimated that there was only about an hour of daylight left before sunset. He thought about his friends waiting for him, wondering if he was still alive. He thought about Yrabelle, being forced to work in the demon lord's mine, and he realized that what she must be facing was worse than this–a lot worse.