by C. J. Strong
Once Gallagher had raced to the top, he found himself one on one against an unbeatable foe. A strange feeling came over Gallagher. It wasn’t fear, nor was it confidence, but somehow he knew that he had to try and stop this creature from doing whatever the hell it was doing. Omna wasn’t far behind Gallagher and could tell he was preparing for battle. She offered him Valdar’s sword but he declined. “No thanks. I know it sounds weird but I think if I can distract this thing then the others down below will fall. It seems like it is somehow controlling the Ghouls, but if I can break its concentration even for a second then I’m sure our troops will win.”
“How do you know that?” Omna asked.
“I don’t know, it’s just a gut feeling that I have!” Gallagher yelled before charging the conductor. He didn’t get far before running into an invisible force field that seemed to surround the Zormite.
Of course, nothing is ever easy is it? He thought before looking around for something that would help him get the creatures attention. As he stood back to his feet, Gallagher noticed a rock on the ground so he picked it up and chucked it as hard as he could at his enemy. The rock penetrated the barrier only briefly before disintegrating into dust, but it still seemed to catch the creature’s attention. It wasn’t much, but Gallagher noticed the Ghouls in the valley look up at them. This confirms it, it is controlling them! I’ve just got to figure out a way to catch it off guard.
“Omna, I’m going to need you to help me out here,” he said.
“What do you need me to do?”
“I want you to follow behind me and strike at the barrier as I try to break through.”
“But what if you burn up just like—“
“Are you going to do it or not?”
As the Zormite continued to watch the battlefield and control the minions down below, Gallagher and Omna attempted to get his attention by executing their plan. Gallagher slowly walked step by step closer to the creature, as Omna struck at the force field from the side. Each step became harder for Gallagher, but he knew he must press on. Just as the force against him was nearly unbearable, he looked down to see that the Tilturians had destroyed most of the evil forces. Still, Gallagher wanted to contribute something to the battle, and he knew that this was just the thing.
Down below, Valdar had defeated one of the three Zealots, but had suffered several injuries already. His men had caught up to where he was and were slaughtering the Zormites alongside him as he battled on. Just when things seemed to be drawing to a close, another large army of Ghouls marched from behind the hills of the battlefield and the Tilturian army was surrounded.
“Fantastic,” Gallagher struggled to say as he fell to his knees due to the pressure against him. Now I have to do this.
Gallagher looked down to see familiar faces he had served in the barracks day after day, now fighting for their lives. He shielded himself with his arms as he tried to stand up once more. His legs shook profusely, but he was doing it. Once he was stable again, he started to walk towards the leader again. These people, they give me strength! I have to do this, not only for myself but for them. This… is what I was born to do. Gallagher thought as a look of determination came over his face and he stepped closer and closer.
His movement changed from a struggle to a walk and then to a jog as his eyes burned with passion. Some strange force took over him as one eye turned a crystal blue as the other shined a brilliant red and he broke through the barrier and tackled the Zormite to the ground. He held him there as his eyes burned and the Tilturian forces down below were able to quickly dispatch the opposing army. Gallagher had no idea how he was doing it or where this power came from but energy seemed to surge throughout his entire body. Something had awoken in him, some sort of inner rage. His heart felt like a never ending waterfall, pumping magical powers into his veins with every heartbeat.
The conducting creature eventually broke free from him and stumbled back to its feet. It turned its attention from the battle to Gallagher and summoned forth a strange book as eyes lit red from underneath the cloak and hood.
Gallagher stepped back and prepared for battle as he waved for Omna to take the sword and retreat. Out of nowhere a book appeared within the hand that he had just waved with and he held it out in front of him. This came as a complete and utter shock, and he had no idea how he had summoned it.
Gallagher examined the book which had just appeared within his hands, and after tilting it back and forth a few times he was able to recognize it. It was the same book that had summoned him to this world, and the one he had previously tossed down the river. This time, the lock was removed from the side of the book, and it only felt natural for him to open it. As he did, several pages flew by until coming to the last entry which read “Fried chicken, fried bacon, chicken fried bacon, ‘kool and mysterious cloak’.” Gallagher had no idea what any of this meant, but he knew that he had an opponent in front of him that he still had to face. He just hoped that no bright lights would shoot out from the book anymore, or that if they did then they would hit the Zormite instead of him.
By this time, Valdar had limped up the hill towards Gallagher and Omna, and the others were not far behind. Valdar transformed from his lion form and held an open wound on his stomach before yelling, “Be careful kid! That is a Spellbinder Zormite.”
Gallagher nodded and prepared to face off against the most dangerous foe he had ever seen. The Spellbinder revealed its hands which appeared to be of skeletal bone and started to write in its book as Gallagher looked to his peers for guidance.
“Trial by fire, you’re going to have to learn as you go,” Valdar said as he nearly collapsed to the ground. Valden and Omna rushed over to support him, as several other Tilturians’ finished their fights and started to walk up the hill.
“You’ve got an audience so don’t disappoint,” Moldur said as he sat down and pulled some food from his pockets.
“Show us. No, prove to all of us that you are the Savior!” Omna yelled.
Gallagher turned from the crowd and watched as his opponent continued to write. He decided to mimic the Spellbinder, and do the same. He didn’t know what to write, or why writing in the book was important, but it only felt natural to do so. As his fingers touched the blank page in front of him, a burning blue aura surrounded his entire hand. He had no idea what it meant, but it seemed to be a good sign.
It wasn’t before long that the Zormite had finished writing, and a sword and shield magically appeared on the ground in front of it. It closed its book, and picked up the weapons. Gallagher started to sweat, and scribbled something down with his finger before slamming his book shut. His book disappeared just as the Spellbinders did, God I really hope this works.
A pen popped out of thin air and Gallagher caught it before it hit the ground.
“A pen?!” Valdar shouted in disbelief. “You could have conjured anything and you chose to conjure a pen?”
“It’s all that I could think of on such short notice…” Gallagher said as the Spellbinder charged at him weapons in hand.
Gallagher barely jumped out of the way as the creatures sword swung to the ground. Within moments it had recovered its balance and went after him once more. Again and again it attacked, as Gallagher avoided each attack by the skin of his teeth. I gotta remember my training, He thought as it charged yet again. This time, Gallagher spun out of the way and stabbed the creature in the back with his pen. “You see, the pen is mightier than the sword!”
Gallagher thought that his direct hit would have done some damage, but the Spellbinder recovered from its massive swing and was quickly back on the offensive. Gallagher knew that he had to think outside of the box, so he tried to counter one of the creature’s swings with his pen. Just as the two weapons met, an explosion occurred which sent smoke into the air. Blinded and a bit concussed by the reaction, Gallagher attempted to jump away, but instead ended up falling directly into his opponent.
As the cloud of smoke cleared, both Gallagher’s pen and the m
onsters sword had disappeared. Scrambling to get up, he noticed that the creature had dropped its shield in the commotion. He rolled and picked it up just before the Spellbinder made its way back to its feet. Now Gallagher seemed to have to upper hand, but instead the monster charged relentlessly once more and the hero was forced to block with the shield.
The Zormite hacked and slashed with its skeletal hands as it drove Gallagher ever closer to the edge of the hill. Gallagher stood his ground and blocked each attack with the shield, before eventually digging his feet into the ground just before the ledge. As the creature prepared for one more powerful blow, Gallagher smiled with confidence.
“Look out!” Omna screamed as the Zormite swiped at Gallagher.
Just before the strike landed, Gallagher slipped in between its legs and out behind it. He then pressed his shoulder up against the shield and pushed the Spellbinder off the edge of the hill. It then tumbled all the way down, landing alongside countless bodies.
Gallagher took the shield off of his arm and tossed it like a Frisbee down at his enemy. The shield flew down and hit the Spellbinder in the head, slicing its skull in two. “And don’t forget your toy!” Gallagher said valiantly as the army cheered and the Spellbinder turned to dust along with the shield it had used.
He then made his way over to Valdar and the rest of his gang, where they stood in awe of his performance.
“I always knew there was somethin’ special about you kid,” Valdar said.
“Of course! He is the Savior after all,” Omna said as he let go of holding Valdar and hugged Gallagher.
“Savior huh? Yeah well I guess he is,” Valdar said as he hopped over to congratulate the young hero. “Who knew you were a Nifflarian all along?”
Chapter 20
Andrum and Yuralia woke up together the next morning to find that Uriella had already been patiently waiting for them in the living room. They quickly put on their clothes and prepared for what they thought would be a very productive day. Yuralia conjured up some breakfast for the trio and they ate at the table without speaking much. Everybody knew pretty much what the plan was, but were nervous about it. Before they could finish, a knock came from the front door.
“Who is it?” Yuralia asked as she sat up from the dining table.
“I come with orders from Mistress Ondull…” a voice said before Yuralia waved her hand which opened the door.
“Yes? What news do you have?”
“You are to leave your slaves here and prepare for combat,” the guard said as he stood in the doorway.
“Leave them here?” Yuralia said as she turned towards her friends.
“Yes, the battle will occur at the Ancient Grounds, just outside the village gates.”
“I know where the Ancient Grounds are you fool, now leave us so that I may prepare,” Yuralia commanded.
The guard nodded his head and walked away as Yuralia shut the door. “It seems we have a change of plans…” she said.
“Well what are we going to do now?” Andrum asked.
“Don’t panic. The guards at the front gate already know to let you two through, so I will just have to distract everyone for a while so that you two can sneak past the crowd,” Yuralia said.
“By distract do you mean actually fight Ashurd?” Uriella said.
“Yes, unfortunately. But I promise no harm will come to him, it’ll only be a showing until you two have escaped.”
“Yeah, but Ashurd won’t know that!” Uriella said.
This is just like my vision… Andrum thought. Ashurd was in battle armor just outside the village gates, with a crowd centered around him. I couldn’t tell who he was fighting but maybe it was Yuralia. If so, then was this a good sign of things to come? Regardless, I can’t afford to change fate a second time. Who knows what kind of consequences it may have. Perhaps because I saved Yuralia in turn it has had a domino effect and opened up an opportunity to save Ashurd as well.
“Once the both of you leave the village, I want you to head South West. A few day’s walk from here is a small Tilturian village called Tindu—“
“Tilturian?!” Andrum interrupted as he faded back into the conversation.
“Yes, it’ll be safe there. I helped the leader of that village rise to power not long ago, so he owes me a favor,” Yuralia said.
“And what about you and Ashurd?” Uriella asked as she finished her breakfast.
“Once I defeat him in combat, we will leave here as quickly as we can without being suspicious and meet you in Tindu.”
“Defeat him?” Andrum asked as a concerned look came over his face.
“It is the only way. At first I thought we could escape together before the battle began, but I know Mother would stop us. If I can beat Ashurd in Ult-Dak-Fin, then I can try and convince her that I’ll need some time alone with him to drain his powers and during that time I will fill Ashurd in on what’s going on and we will escape.”
“It seems risky, but you have been able to convince her of everything thus far,” Andrum said.
“Okay, I will leave the front door open by just a crack so that you guys can sneak out. When you see that most of the citizens and guards have left for the duel, you two can leave,” Yuralia explained.
“Why do you have to leave the door open, won’t that seem suspicious?” Uriella asked.
“Each and every one of these doors were crafted by the owner’s magik and only they can open them. It’s a safety feature to prevent theft among other things.”
“Oh how interesting, I wish we had thought of that in Ulteria,” Andrum said.
“Alright, I gotta go. I’ll see you two in a few days’ time if everything goes okay,” Yuralia said before kissing Andrum on the lips and then leaving with the door barely cracked open.
About a half hour after Yuralia had left, most of the people had cleared out of the village. As Andrum peaked through the crack in the door, whispering to Uriella what was going on, a Nifflarian came out of a nearby house. As he walked down the street past Yuralia’s house, he turned to notice that her front door wasn’t shut. Andrum and Uriella jumped back before the neighbor could see them.
“What a forgetful woman, one of the biggest days of her life and she forgets to close her door all the way,” he said as shut the front door to Yuralia’s house and walked away.
“Great! Now what do we do?” Uriella said as Andrum crawled off of her.
“Can’t we just break down the door and escape?” Andrum asked.
“No, I don’t believe so. This entire house was made from Yuralia’s magik. So unless yours is stronger, I’m afraid we are stuck here.”
“My magik may not be stronger… but I know of someone’s who is,” Andrum said as his eyes began to turn a crystal blue.
“What are you talking about?” Uriella said before the entire house started to shake.
Andrum screamed as every muscle in his body flexed, attempting to summon Xurion forth. At first he did not succeed, and his power lowered back to normal. Again he tried, and the house shook once more. This time, Andrum yelled as loud as he could, and gathered every bit of magik and power he could. His eyes turned blue, and beams of magik shot out uncontrollably. The laser-like light pierced through the door as Andrum fell to his knees.
“That was amazing!” Uriella said as she tried to lift Andrum from the ground. “Come on, we need to get out of here, that wasn’t exactly inconspicuous you know.”
Andrum grumbled a bit and tried to walk as Uriella held him up by the waist. The two of them limped out of the house and down the village streets. Andrum had nearly recovered by the time they came to the village gates. The guards stood perfectly still as they approached, acting as if they never even acknowledged their presence of being there.
“Umm… can you open the gate please?” Andrum said as Uriella let him stand on his own.
The guards nodded their heads and opened the gates. Andrum could hear the crowd cheer as a fierce battle took place. They both crouched down after passing t
hrough the entranceway to the village, and soon came upon a large group circled around two combatants. Andrum looked up for a brief second as they crawled through the crowd to see Yuralia and Ashurd clashing sword against axe. It was just like how Andrum had seen in the vision! Every single detail was there. Each person was in the same spot that they were in the still frame that he travelled through, and Ashurd was dressed in full body armor wielding a battleaxe. Andrum knew that the book Xurion had given him had unbelievable powers, but this was proof that it also contained the written future. If only he hadn’t awoken from the vision when he did, he might’ve been able to figure out if their plan was going to work or not.
“You will pay for what you did to them you witch!” Ashurd shouted as he swung ferociously at his opponent.
Uriella took Andrum by the hand and pulled him through the people so that he would refrain from getting further distracted. After swimming through the crowd, the two of them continued along the path as the sounds of the duel grew ever fainter.
“We actually did it,” Uriella said as they continued on.
“We did… but what about them?” Andrum said, turning back towards the village.
“Stick to the plan, Andrum.”
“I know, I know. Off to the Tilturian village we go.”
Chapter 21
After Gallagher’s impressive display of newfound power, he and the rest of the army set up camp just a few miles from the battlefield. He still had no idea how he had done it, but it seemed like almost anything was possible in this world. Valdar counted up the troops while Gallagher and his friends rested, and Gallagher couldn’t help but feel like some of the troops were watching him. It wasn’t comradery that they were projecting towards him, but fear.
“Do you think that thing I fought was responsible for what happened at Stonewall Point?” Gallagher asked as they sat around a campfire.