“Oh no, you haven’t seen the real monster yet,” a voice said from within the dark cloud.
The voice sounded like Alagossa, but at the same time it sounded as if a demon was talking through her.
And from the dark cloud the huge foot of a scaly beast emerged, nails scratching the granite floor of the room, as if it was sand. And as the rest of the fog of darkness finally dissipated a hideous dragon as big as the room was revealed, with large wings and fire for breath.
“I don’t think I like your queen,” Stundroff said as the three of them contemplated the beast.
“Well, you should have said that before you fornicated with her,” Licius replied.
“This is the woman that seduced me?” Stundroff asked with both amazement and disgust.
“I am afraid so, my friend,” Licius replied.
“Well, in our defense, she was much prettier a few minutes ago,” Arius said.
“And what happened to the whole ‘dragons are not real’ lecture, you gave me a while ago?” Stundroff asked.
“Don’t think that matters anymore,” said Licius.
“Silence!” said the dragon. “I’ve heard enough from you. I’ll crack that armor of yours and consume your life and once I am done with you, I will take care of your friends.”
“There’s no way I’ll let that happen; you’; have to kill us instead,” Licius replied.
“Why don’t we come up with an option which doesn’t involve me dying?” Stundroff asked.
“Enough! Now you will die.” The dragon opened its mouth and began to spit fire.
The fire quickly spread through the room. Arius protected himself and Stundroff with his shield, while Licius walked towards the huge beast.
The dragon used it’s foot to try and squash Licius, but just as the huge paw was about to crush him he unsheathed his blade and held it straight up over his head, as he kneeled on the floor.
The dragon screamed in pain as it felt the blade going through its scales and into its flesh.
So in one swift motion it closed its talons and then lifted its foot with such force that not only did the sword came out but Licius was sent flying against the wall, sliding to the ground barely conscious.
The dragon then blasted Licius with fire, hoping to melt his armor. But as the temperature in the room rose, Arius decided to act.
Pointing his hammer at the dragon he let out a blast of pure light, only to find that the darkness swallowed the light whole.
“What, did you think your little light trick would have any effect on me? I thought you knew that before the light came to be, everything was darkness,” the dragon said, laughing.
Stundroff jumped straight at the dragon, punching it on its side and breaking one of its ribs; the dragon screamed in agony, but immediately retaliated with a swipe of its talons..
But the Dwarf was able to catch the dragon’s foot and the creature seemed to be no match for his strength.
“Impressive; I thought you would be too tired to fight after I had my way with you. Yet you seem to have plenty of energy left. It is truly a shame that I have to kill you,” the dragon said.
It turned its head towards Stundroff and began to burn him alive.
As the skin from the Dwarf’s body began to melt only one thought crossed his mind.
Why does it always have to be fire?
Arius ran towards his friend, raising his holy shield to protect the both of them from the fire.
“Thank you, but what do we do now?” Stundroff asked as his flesh began to heal.
“Not sure, I have never fought a dragon made out of light-swallowing darkness before.”
But before they could think of anything, the dragon placed its foot on the holy shield and swallowed the energy, leaving them out in the open and ready to be burned.
And just as they thought the end had finally come for them, Licius stuck his blades into the side of the dragon’s neck. The dragon sent Licius flying again, but this time he managed to flip his body in the air and landed feet first against the wall.
From there, Licius used all the strength in his legs and jumped straight at the dragon, which had opened its mouth, and as fire came out of it, the Elf made his way inside, protected by the armor.
The dragon then tried to crush him, but the armor was too strong, so the creature swung its head from side to side with such force that Licius’s body felt like if it was going to be torn apart inside the armor, so with what little strength he could gather he stuck his blades in the roof of the dragon’s mouth cavity, forcing it open. He then slide down the inside of the dragon’s throat, cutting his way as the armor protected him from the fire, until he found the beast’s heart.
The dragon screamed in pain as the Elf made his way through its body and started to slam itself against the walls of the room in a desperate attempt to make him stop, but the only thing it accomplished was to start the collapse of the fortress.
Arius raised his shield once again to protect him and the Dwarf from the falling rocks. Stundroff grabbed the prince.
“Hang on; we are getting out of here.” He jumped with such force that they went through the roof of the fortress using the holy shield as protection.
Outside, they found a terrified Galoosh standing in the middle of the path to the entrance, about to be crushed by a rock until Stundroff caught it and threw it away.
“What are you doing? Get out of here,” Stundroff said.
The sound of the Dwarf’s voice snapped Galoosh out of the trance he was in and he quickly turned into a wolf and ran towards Arius, who was standing at a safe distance.
“What is happening? And where is the Elf?” Galoosh asked.
“I’m not sure how to answer either of those questions,” Arius replied as he stared at the crumbling fortress.
◆◆◆
Back inside, Licius was still trying to get a grip at the dragon’s heart.
But despite the dragon’s efforts Licius finally managed to latch himself to the dragon’s huge heart and stabbed it as hard as he could. Darkness started to pour out of the wounds.
The darkness then tried to possess Licius’s body, but once again the armor protected him from the dark magic.
The dragon begged for its life as the Elf kept stabbing its heart, until finally it stopped beating and the body turned once again into the dark fog that surrounded Licius’s body as it levitated him in the air.
The darkness then made a final effort to possess the Elf’s body before finally exploding and releasing all of the dark fog once again into the forest.
The explosion of dark energy was so strong that even from outside the fortress Galoosh was able to spot Licius’s location, so turning himself into an eagle he flew to the top of the fortress and picked up his unconscious body.
Back on the ground, Galoosh turned into a horse and asked Stundroff to put Licius on top of him until he regained his consciousness, as they made their way back to the cabin were they could rest.
“You know, for a moment I really thought you had ended the darkness that plagues this forest,” Galoosh said.
“Darkness is impossible to eradicate, as long as there is light so shall darkness exist, and to be honest never have I faced such powerful dark energy,” Arius replied.
“Well, at least no one will enter that damn fortress again,” Galoosh said.
“Yes, but if it wasn’t for my Dwarf friend here, I probably would not have made it out. I am really glad you found me when you did,” Arius said.
“No problem, I will always be there when you need me,” Stundroff replied.
“You know, I never did ask, how did you manage to find me?” Arius asked the Dwarf.
“The light guided my way,” Stundroff replied.
“Well, I am surprised that someone that was a non-believer a few days ago was able to feel the guidance of the light in such an unholy place, but I am glad that my faith was able to guide you.”
“No, I mean that I literally saw the light fr
om your hammer through a crack in the wall and punched my way through from there.”
“Let me have my victory.”
Finally they made it back to the cabin, wish was being watched from a tree by the beautiful white owl that Galoosh recognized, yet he did his best no to draw his friend’s attention to the watching bird.
◆◆◆
They rested at the cabin for a day, and waited for Licius to wake. As soon as he could stand, he went straight into the room where Arius was resting.
“It seems I own you an apology.”
He explained to his friends the truth about what really happened to the queen and to the late king Varius.
“So as you see, I spent millennia holding a grudge and being consumed by hatred, when in reality it was my people who betrayed yours.”
“There is nothing to apologies for, as long as you have found your peace,” Arius replied.
“Thank you, you are a true friend,” said Licius.
“You know what really bothers me?” Arius asked.
“No, please tell me,” the Elf replied.
“That I left myself be consumed by the powers of that witch; as soon as she touched me she became my every desire. I was so consumed by lust that I was willing not only to forfeit my life, but my father’s life as well.”
“You shouldn’t blame yourself for that; she was a very powerful being. And whatever the darkness that consumed her was, it was strong enough to overpower her and infest this entire forest,” Licius replied.
“Yes, but the whole point of my powers relies on faith and the absolute certainty that no matter what temptation may be placed in my way, I shall always have the devotion and resolution to overcome it and do what is right.”
“It sounds like your faith demands you to be perfect, and as someone that has been alive for over four thousand years, let me tell you that there is no such thing as a perfect being,” said Licius.
“Perhaps you’re right, but what hope do I have to reunite my people if I’m going to abandon my own believes with such ease.”
Licius felt the pain in Arius’s voice and knew that he had to find a way to connect with him, so he retracted his armor and asked Galoosh and Stundroff to join them in order to cheer him up.
Once the four of them gathered in the same room, Licius retracted his armor completely.
He knelt in front of Arius.
“You are the bravest and must noble person I know; you managed to turn my hate towards you into friendship and I have no doubt that if you were able to shine light into my dark cold heart, so shall you illuminate the hearts of your people.”
“Yes, before I met you I had no purpose in life and now I am on a quest to save the world,” Stundroff added.
“Thank you, my friends,” Arius said.
“You don’t have to thank us, for I may not be a Human but I will accept you as my king when the time comes,” Licius said.
“No, an Elf like you should not bow to anyone. We will fight for a better world together and when the time comes, you will guide your people with the virtue that only you possess. Now rise for you are not my subject, you are my friend.”
Licius then stood up and looked at his friend and smiled, and then suddenly he spat blood. He looked down at his chest, from which a pointy perfect horn was coming out.
The elf felt on his knees again as his body began to fail him.
It was only then that they realized that, Galoosh had turned himself into a unicorn and had used his horn to stab Licius through his spine and heart.
Arius and Stundroff were so caught off guard by this that they simply stood there watching, as his friend bleed out all over the floor, unable to move.
“What did you do?” Stundroff screamed.
Galoosh then transformed back to his Human form and took a step back, terrified. And as Licius’s body felt to the ground the druid said,
“I am sorry; he made me do it.”
Chapter 8
Reunion
“Who is he? What do you mean by that?” Arius shouted at Galoosh, as Licius lay on the ground bleeding.
“I do not know his name.”
“Oh no, you’re going to have to give us more than that,” Stundroff said, as he pushed Galoosh against the wall.
“I’m sorry; I know nothing else about him. All I know is that he caught me off guard and once I tried to defend myself, he bested me in combat with ease. He then held a blade to my neck and told me that if I was to continue living I would do as he said.”
“And what did he said then?” Arius asked, as he kneeled on the floor and began to channel a healing spell on Licius.
“What are you doing?” Galoosh asked.
“He’s trying to save him and if you want to save yourself, I recommend you answer the question, druid.” Stundroff tightened his grip around Galoosh´s neck.
“He said that I was to wait for Licius to drop his guard and remove his armor and then stab him through the heart, or else he would kill me.”
“What does he look like? Describe him to me,” Stundroff said.
“He was an Elf, he looked just like Licius but he had a nasty scar over his left eye.”
“Don’t lie to us, you expect us to believe that there’s another Elf out there? When no one has seen one in over two thousand years?” Arius asked.
“I am sorry, my friends, I know it sounds insane, but everything that I have told you is the truth.”
“Well, not everything you said is true. For I never threatened your life, instead I offered you, your weight in gold,” a deep voice from outside the room said.
“Who said that?” Stundroff asked, as he pushed Galoosh so hard that the druid broke the wall and fell into the adjacent room.
“I don’t usually waste my time introducing myself to someone that’s about to die, but since it has been so long since I actually killed someone, I shall humor you. My name is Rallec, I am the high general of the Elf Royal Army and I am here to collect the body of that deserter and kill anyone who stands in my way.”
Then from the dark shadow in the corner of the next room, came an Elf.
“I don’t care who you are or what your rank is, you’re not taking our friend,” said Arius.
“Just as I expected, don’t worry. I will take the time to kill the three of you before I take Licius with me.”
“What do you mean the three of us?” Galoosh asked.
“Come on now; don’t tell me you really believed I would pay a filthy druid, who does everyone’s dirty work. The only reason I used you was because I knew Licius would never take that armor in front of me,” Rallec said.
“But you swore you would spare me. I thought the honor of an Elf general does not allow you to lie,” Galoosh said.
“Well, I have learned a valuable lesson about Elf honor and lying from your dying friend recently. So to answer your question, yes, I did lie and yes, I will kill you, but if it is any consolation I will save you for last, because there is nothing I enjoy more than killing a coward… slowly.”
“Are all Elves this arrogant? I don’t know who you think you are, but you underestimate us... Stundroff take care of him!” Arius yelled.
“It is you who underestimate me, by jumping into battle without knowing your enemy,” Rallec replied, as he casually dodged a punch from Stundroff.
The Dwarf managed to hit nothing but air with his first strike, so he planted his feet to regain balance and carefully aimed again. But the Elf was nowhere to be found.
“Behind you, Master Dwarf,” Rallec said.
The Dwarf was shocked by this; could his ears be playing a trick? The Elf had been right in front of him a second ago, how could he now be behind him?
Filled with anger and determined not to waste a second blow, Stundroff took a backswing with his right arm with enough strength to kill an Orc. But once again he found himself completely missing his mark, as the Elf bent his body backwards just enough for the Dwarf´s arm to miss him.
This enraged Stu
ndroff even further; he made a hammer with both his fists and slammed them against Rallec in hopes of finally crushing him. But the Elf managed to avoid the attack once again, by jumping over the Dwarf and landing behind him.
Stundroff's blow was so strong that it shocked the very foundations of the cabin, knocking both Galoosh and Arius to the floor. Yet Rallec remained standing, as his balance was not affected at all by the immense vibration.
“What is wrong, Master Dwarf? You can’t seem to hit your target. All that strength is useless if you don’t have speed.”
Stundroff was completely enraged and, without even thinking, he once again resumed the attack, unleashing a barrage of punches. But once again none of his strikes managed to came close to hitting Rallec.
The angrier the Dwarf gets the easier it is to read his moves, Arius thought, as he saw how his friend was being humiliated by the Elf.
“Calm down, Stundroff, he is using your rage against you!” he yelled at his friend.
“Now don’t be hasty young prince, you shall have your turn.” Rallec casually dodged another punch.
Arius hoped his words would bring focus to his friend, but the Dwarf was too far gone in his rage to listen. So he continued to punch until he finally got Rallec’s back against the wall.
Sure he had him; the Dwarf clenched his fist and threw one last punch, hoping to kill the Elf in one blow. But once again the Elf twisted his body at the last second and managed to avoid the Dwarf’s arm: his fist went clean through the wall.
Rallec quickly unsheathed two daggers and stuck one of them in Stundroff’s right arm, then, in what seemed one single swift movement, he went under the Dwarf’s arm and, spinning behind him, he landed the other dagger in the center of his spine, just out of reach of the Dwarf’s hands, paralyzing him from the waist down.
Stundroff had no idea of what was going on, as he fell to the ground with unresponsive legs. He then began to twist and turn, as he desperately tried to reach for the dagger.
“Don’t worry, Master Dwarf, I’m sure you are more than capable of recovering from such wounds. But for now you won’t be in my way, as I have a prize to collect.”
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