by Brad Clark
The Deceiver smiled. “Very good,” he said. “I have heard that there is a castle to the north where many of the locals are holed up. I have sent goblins to scout it out, but so far, none have returned.”
Marila’s skin and body shimmered again, and her hair became shorter, hanging down to her shoulders. Her body became thicker, and her face became rough, tanned, and filled with a scraggly beard.
“Now, you only need a sword to pass as a soldier of this kingdom.” The Deceiver gave an absent wave and continued, “you will surely find a weapon among the rubble in the city to add to your disguise. Go now. Seek out this castle and return to me what you find.”
Marila looked at the leather pouch that hung from the Deceiver’s neck. “What is it that you expect me to find there?”
The Deceiver saw her eyes drift to the leather pouch, and his hands absently moved to touch it.
“If you believe that the rest of your Ark of Life is there, why do you not just march your army there and claim your prize?”
“I have felt it used, and it comes from that part of this kingdom, but I do not know where it is hidden. That is why I need you. You are to find it, secure it if you can, and then report back to me. If I move my army too early, they will do all they can to hide or sneak it away, and I will spend the rest of the war chasing it down. I do not need the full power of the Ark of Life for the first part of my plans. However, to ensure my eternal rule, I will need it, and the quicker I have it, the better it will be for all of us.”
“As always, I will not fail you.”
The Deceiver smiled. “Of course not. Failure will not be a favorable option for you.”
Marila gave a sharp nod and without another moment’s hesitation, turned on her heel and sprinted down the stairs.
Chapter Eleven
Marik looked at Kaelak, who was on his left and then at Hallendrielle, who was on his right. They were walking slowly, with a bit of a hunch, so that they didn’t look like they were soldiers marching across a battlefield. There had been a bright flash of light atop the tower which had caught his attention, but it didn’t appear that either of the Elves had seen it. Their faces were tucked under the hoods of the cloaks so he couldn’t see their eyes, but they did not flinch or acknowledge the bright light in any way.
“I wonder what that was,” Marik asked. He actually felt a little full of himself as he had seen something that the Elves did not.
“You mean the opening of the portal?” Hallendrielle asked.
Marik’s bubble was burst, but he tried not let his tone show his disappointment. “I saw a bright light.”
“The Deceive is atop the tower, and he has opened the door to his domain. I can feel the energy drain coming from the Web of Magic, but it is not very strong. He is still weak, at least compared to what he could be. I am sure he will continue to grow in strength, even if he never finds the necklace. If he does find the necklace, then we will be in serious trouble. Of all the things that he could do, holding open the portal for all his followers to come through would be disastrous for this world.”
“Should we not hurry and stop him!”
Kaelak replied, “There is little for us to do. In fact, we need to make sure that we don’t draw attention to ourselves. A battle against the Deceiver is not something we are prepared for.”
Marik’s hand subconsciously went to the hilt of his sword. “But both of you know magic, right? You can fight him!”
Hallendrielle shook her head. “We know magic, but we are not mages who can control the power of the Web of Magic at will. We are very limited in what we can do, especially when it comes to offensive, destructive spells. For that, you would need to find a Human mage.”
“We have one of those.”
“Yes, I know, and that scares us all.”
“But if he can fight the Deceiver…”
Hallendrielle cut him off sharply. “The Deceiver is a being that has existed since the beginning of time. He is only restricted now by the physical body he inhabits. But, he still knows spellcasting and the power of magic much better than this Human mage you mention. We will fight him, but on our terms and when we are fully ready. That time will come soon enough. For now, though, we have a task at hand.”
Marik looked back up at the tower. The bright light was gone. “You said it’s a portal? What’s on the other side of it?”
Hellendrielle did not answer right away. She glanced at Kaelak, wondering if he would answer. He continued walking with a grim, stone-faced look.
“It’s his realm,” she said. “He rules a world that is full of death and his soldiers are there waiting to come through to help him conquer this world.”
“So,” Marik said thoughtfully, “We’re heading right for that tower and right towards whatever came through the portal?”
“It was not open very long,” Hellendrielle said. “If any came through, it would have only been a handful of his soldiers.”
“I feel naked walking through this field,” Marik said. “What if we were spotted and the Deceiver sends his soldiers after us?”
“He will have brought his best and strongest through,” Kaelak said grimly. “He would not waste the time of his soldiers on three Karmon refugees seeking shelter. We will be met first by goblins and maybe a Stone Ogre or two. The Deceiver is pure evil, but that does not make him unwise when it comes to warfare. Once we make it to the tower, though, we will need to be prepared for whatever he has brought through.”
They were still a good hundred yards from the ruins of the wall when the first goblin appeared. It tried to stay hidden behind the large piles of rubble but kept poking its head up to see where the three of them were. Marik adjusted his cloak so that he could easily draw his sword when it came time. Kaelak had a slight smirk on his face as he eagerly looked forward to spilling goblin blood. Hallendrielle took in a deep breath and let it out slowly as she prepared her mind and body for what was to come next. For the two Elves, it had been ages since they had been in a fight for their lives and both their hearts were pounding hard.
Trying to use a calm voice, Kaelak said, “We must refrain from using magic. The moment we do so, the Deceiver will sense it and just might send his soldiers at us. Or worse, he might come himself.”
“For these creatures, we have no need of magic,” Marik said with a firm, even tone. His eyes narrowed, and he let his breathing fall into its battle rhythm. With lengthening strides, he took the lead, pulling ahead of the Elves. This was his city, and his heart ached at the destruction he saw. It only felt right that he would be the one to draw first blood with his return. The acrid scent of death wrinkled his nose as he neared the wall. He could not see the goblins, yet, but he knew they were among the large blocks of rubble, just waiting for them. He drew his sword, holding it firmly with two hands.
Steps away from the rubble, a goblin suddenly appeared and leaped at him. With one smooth motion, Marik swung at where the goblin was going to be. The crossways slice caught the goblin in the midsection, burying his sword halfway through the creature’s abdomen. The goblin kicked and screeched as it fell, pulling Marik’s sword to the ground. He did his best to hold onto the handle of the sword, but the goblin’s momentum was too strong. As the goblin spat out the last of his breath, Marik found himself without a weapon.
Another goblin leaped at him, and Marik thought for sure the creature’s long talons would slice him open. Before he could even flinch, Kaelak had jumped in front of him, slashing and slicing with his long daggers. Two other goblins jumped forward, their teeth bared and ready to bite, claw, and scratch. Marik dove for his sword, yanked it out of the dead goblin’s body, and met the next wave of creatures.
Having already fought them, Marik knew how vicious they were, even if they were weak. He didn’t take them for granted and tried to kill them as quickly as he could. He also quickly discovered that fighting them in a wide-open field was much easier than trying to fight them in close quarters. Among the rubble of the fallen wall, th
ey were able to jump and leap away from his sure deathblows. He slashed and stabbed, but the goblins simply jumped away and out of reach of his sword. The Elves, even though they hadn’t ever fought the goblins, quickly established a pattern of fighting that allowed them to quickly dispatch the goblins that attacked them.
Climbing and jumping on the uneven rubble, the last goblin was able to easily avoid Marik’s reach. He did not have the quickness and agility that they had, even though he had the power and strength advantage. As he struggled to get close enough to the goblin to kill it, he realized that if the goblins had made it into the city during the battle for Tyre, the outcome might have been much different. They were not open-field fighters, and the ease with which they were dispatched on the open field that led up to the outskirts of Tyre proved that. But given uneven terrain and obstacles to hide behind, their agility and speed were to the goblin’s advantage.
As he swung his sword unsuccessfully at the elusive goblin, he heard chuckling behind him. He glanced back to see Hallendrielle smiling at him and Kaelak outright laughing. While he laughed, Kaelak was wiping blood off his daggers. With frustration mounting, Marik stepped up onto the uneven rubble and made another wild swing at the goblin. Deftly, the goblin jumped back and seeing Marik off balance, it jumped at him.
His swing had not only had sent him off balance but left him unprotected. He looked up in horror to see the goblin leaping at him, teeth bared and long talons extended to strike him. With a grunt, he tried to bring his sword up to defend himself, but he was too slow. The most he could do was to get his forearm up. The goblin landed on top of him, its teeth biting deep into his arm. He let out a shout not from the pain, but from the surprise. The creature wasn’t heavy, but because he was already off balance, it didn’t take much to send him flying backward, landing on his back with a thud. All the air that was in his lungs exploded from his body, and he thought he was going to die.
He knew he wasn’t, as he had the wind knocked out of him many times falling from horses when he was a young squire. But it had been a long time, and he had forgotten how painful and panicky it left him. Back then, his only concern was waiting for the air to come back into his lungs. Now, he also had a goblin that was biting hard on his forearm. He released his sword and tried to punch the goblin in the head, but he couldn’t generate enough force with his punches to knock the goblin off him. It actually made it madder and bit down more ferociously.
Suddenly, it stopped moving and fell off him. Kaelak’s smiling face looked down at him.
“What’s so funny,” Marik said. He grabbed his forearm, which was throbbing. He had thick leather armor to protect his arm, but it didn’t keep the force of the bite from bruising him. Fortunately, it was his left arm, which would not affect his ability to use his sword. He rolled over to grab his sword, which was laying on the ground just within his reach. For good measure, he drove the blade into the side of the goblin.
Still smiling, Kaelak helped Marik up. “Is your arm hurt?”
Marik held it up to show the leather vambrace marked with bite marks. “No blood, but it bites hard.”
Hallendrielle stepped over to look at it. “I am sure their bites are dirty, too. There are small animals in the jungle that are diseased, and if they bite you, you will become very sick.”
“I’ll try not to let them bite me again.” He looked around at the dead goblins. “What do we do with them?”
“We don’t have time to hide the dead bodies,” Kaelak said. “If there were but one or two, then we could. We’ll need to get to the tower quickly and get that dragon freed. If these goblins are missed, then it won’t take too long for another group to come looking for them. Or maybe something stronger.”
Marik sheathed his sword and looked around. It was hard to imagine that at one time the rubble around him had been a twenty-foot tall wall. He led them through an opening in the rubble, and the ruins of the city came into full view. There were still buildings that were standing, but none had been untouched by some sort of damage. Roofs were caved in. Walls were crushed. None of the houses were habitable. It would take years to make the city livable again.
The cobblestone streets had been torn up by the Stone Ogres, which would make it difficult to make their way to the tower. They could still follow the streets, but they would spend most of their time climbing over and around the rubble. Marik looked around and wondered if he should climb the rubble to get a higher vantage point to scout a better way through the city. Just as quickly as he thought of the idea, he discounted it. Standing in the shadows of the rubble, they were hidden from anyone looking in their direction, even from the top of the tower. Once they stepped out into the city, they would be exposed.
“It looks like the streets are blocked all the way to the tower,” Marik said. “It will take some time to get there.”
“We could wait until nightfall,” Hallendrielle said.
“If we ran full speed, we could make it to the tower before they could react,” Kaelak said.
Marik shook his head. “I could run full speed to the end of that street, but certainly not up to the tower. And not through all the rubble. We’ll be seen for sure, and there will be a small army waiting for us at the tower. Are you sure your magic can’t work?”
“We could cast a spell to camouflage us, but once I did, the Deceiver could sense us. It would take some time for him to find us, but we would lose our element of surprise. Only the greatest of mages can cast spells to hide from other mages, and we are hardly the greatest of mages.”
“What if you used it, and then stopped using it. Then you moved someplace else and used it. Would he know where you are between when you used it the first time and when you used it the second time?”
Hallendrielle gave a blank look, as she was not following his line of thinking.
Kaelak, though, as a trained soldier, picked up on it. “No,” he replied. “If the spell was started and completely finished, then our link to the Web of Magic will end. We could move someplace else without them being able to track us. He will know that we are somewhere in the city, just not exactly where we are.”
“Right,” Hallendrielle said, picking up on what Marik and Kaelak were talking about. “If it is just one of us that stays back, he will not know that there are others. He will send his soldiers to us, or at the place where the spell was cast. It has to be me. I’m more trained with spellcasting, and I know more spells. When it comes time to a fight, you are a better fighter, Kaelak.”
“You will be all alone,” Kaelak replied. “Glaerion would kill me if anything happened to you.”
“That is true, but it is not his choice or your choice. It is my choice. I have lived a safe and comfortable life for too long, and it makes me feel alive to go into battle and to risk my life.”
Marik moved closer to Hallendrielle and asked, “Are you sure? Once you’re exposed, will you be able to defend yourself?”
“Do not worry about me. Worry about getting to that tower and freeing the dragon.”
“Thank you,” Marik said.
“For what?” Hallendrielle asked back.
“For risking your life for my queen.”
Hallendrielle let out a soft sigh, and her lips turned up into a smile. “Well, it seems that our golden-eyed dragon friend knew more than us. Freeing the dragon will do more than just save your queen. It might help us win the war.”
“Those beasts hate Humans! How could freeing them help us? They won’t fight with us, will they?”
Hallendrielle shook her head slightly. “That I cannot answer. Dragons were gone long before I was born. What I know of them is only what has been passed down through generations of Elves. But I was not referring to them helping us fight the war.”
It was Kaelak’s turn to be surprised. “What are you talking about?”
“If you didn’t spend all your time training to be a warrior, you might know! The portal that opens up between this world and the realm of the Deceiver can only happen
through special types of spells that require the use of components. These types of spells are so powerful that they require these components to help focus and power the spell. It still taps into the Web of Magic, but the power of the spell happens in conjunction with these external components. As for the portal, it requires blood. The more powerful the blood, the longer the portal can remain open. Dragon blood is the most powerful of all so it would be used to open a portal to bring his soldiers through. It all makes sense, now.”
“It makes no sense to me,” Marik said.
“That’s because you’re a Human.”
Marik glared at her. “I thought we were done with the insults.”
Hallendrielle’s eyes went wide as she realized that she had been misunderstood. “Oh, no! I didn’t mean it that way. Humans are the enemy of dragons, and she would not trust you to help her. Well, if I were in her place, I know I wouldn’t. But she needed your help and our help. Since she couldn’t just ask, or she was afraid to ask, or she simply was too proud to ask, she did what she thought was the next best thing. She forced you to do what she needed you to do, and that was to free her dragon friend. And not just because the dragon was imprisoned, but because its blood was being used as a material component to power the spell that was able to open a portal to his domain.”
“You mean she tricked us into helping her, by taking Queen Elissa?” Marik’s anger at the dragon returned. With a sneer, Marik asked, “What would happen if the dragon was killed.”
“The Deceiver would be able to harvest the blood for some time before it would be unusable. Killing the imprisoned dragon would not help us.”
Marik let out a grunt. “The next time I see that beast, I will drive my sword through its remaining good eye.”
Hallendrielle stepped close to him and put a hand on his arm. “You may have a right to be angry, but you must also think about seeing life through her eyes. Centuries ago, Humans killed all her kind, and she has as much hate towards your kind as you have towards her. If you needed her help, would you just go up to her and ask her for help? No, you wouldn’t. So, before you go trying to kill the dragon, think about putting aside your hatred and doing what is right for your queen, your kingdom, and this world.”