“You will not be able to find the grimoire! He has already been destroyed.”, Ornell shouted as he tried once more to escape from the walls of energy that imprisoned him.
At the moment Thelron prepared to make some magic ritual, hundreds of soldiers entered the gates of the Hanneris’s city. They seemed worried, but at the same time they were brandishing large swords of steel, ready for the war.
“They did it! Urentir is rescued!”, Edryon yelled, very excited.
“Don’t be so pleased with the arrival of the soldiers. Those spirits… can end the whole army.”, Ornell said.
When the leader of the bards realized Kimiru seemed increasingly surrounded by the spirits of reptants, which floated in a disorderly manner, shouting in an unknown language, he felt he could not continue just watching that macabre espectacle. Suddenly, Ornell found what appeared to be a gap in the middle of the walls of magical energy, a loophole large enough so that he could escape the magic of Thelron.
“Quick, grab him, the bastard escaped!”, Kordius shouted, still in disbelief that Ornell, who looked completely defeated, had passed through the hole accidentally open in the magic wall.
“Kimiru, do not try to confront these spirits, your ax will do nothing against them!”, Ornell shouted, and as he ran across the road covered with bodies of peasants, he stared at Edryon, who looked increasingly weak.
The Council of the Leaves’s leader, despite knowing that maybe his spells would not make any effect, felt it was the best choice… using his grimoire, the magic book that Ernall, his father, had given to him. Running next to the wooden houses ignited by huge flames, knowing that the time seemed more his greatest enemy, Ornell got into the frenzy of spirits.
“Focus Espirit, Focus Nature!”, Ornell bellowed the words of the secret ritual of Rasputin, who had spent all his magical teachings in the School of the Wind.
Immediately, huge pieces of wood, with the size of some trees in the Forest of the Spirits, came off the walls of one house near the road, and then joined in a harmonious manner, forming a shield that covered the body of Kimiru. Ornell felt this time he would only need to make the magic of spiritual protection, he prepared and opened the grimoire, which strangely seemed heavier than normal, and he was startled by the presence of Kordius and Thelron, before his incredulous eyes.
“The game is over… even thought you could make your stupid rituals?”, Kordius asked, holding a staff with a small skull on the tip, emitting a gray light that dotted the road.
“How do you came there? I still don’t understand…”, Ornell said, trying to get rid of four zombies who held him by the legs and arms, and doing scary screams, revealing huge teeth.
Leaving from behind the wooden shield, formed by the magic of the Council of the Leaves’s leader, with a look of despair on his face, Kimiru ran across the middle of the spirits of reptants, to get near the Heng Lawf’s statue. The bard did not think twice and grabbed the petrified body of his companion, dragging him next to a clump of trees and stopping, staring at a strange woman with pale skin, gray and decaying.
With great difficulty, walking with the legs filled with bubbles that looked larger than his fingers, Edryon knew that if he continued struggling like that, he could fall unconscious in the road. The gray elf was very sad to know that Hanneris was passing by new problems, but he felt an obligation to save any injured people he could find. Knowing that the city now seemed increasingly invaded by the uncertainties and terrors of Kordius, and also knowing that Ornell, Sgnilliv and Rasputin had failed to expel and destroy the all the evil forces, Edryon could no longer reveal any smile on his face, and he no longer wanted new tragic events to happen in the near future.
More efforts, more attempts to walk down the road, futile attempts to move the legs in a normal way like any other gray elf. He was useless as a mage without an arm, as Sgnilliv before receiving the healing, before returning to believe that he would be able to confront again the life’s challenges. From every corner of the city, every house on fire and houses without roofs, destroyed by strong impacts of huge rocks coming out of catapults of necromancers, Edryon felt the pain, in the eyes of the children without parents, who roamed the road, crying and asking for help.
When Sgnilliv was holding his arm, trying to prevent him from moving his legs still full of wounds, Edryon screamed with rage… an anger that was mixed with a great revolt.
“Why do you keep stopping me? Don’t you see the city…”, Edryon attempted to complete his last sentence, as if it was the most important sentence he should say, his legs shook, then he fell with his closed eyes, with no strength amid the dusty road.
“We have to take him to a safer place. Sgnilliv, I want you to take him away from here now.”, Rasputin said, looking worryingly for the goblin.
Holding the gray elf firmly by the arms covered with scratches and injuries caused during the war against the necromancers of Kordius, Sgnilliv left the place hastily, after having realizing that it would be better to carry Edryon in his arms. Rasputin felt a great admiration, to observe his former apprentice goblin, who previously did not know even the path of the magic, now acting with courage and loyalty to his comrades.
When the magician prepared to see if he could do some magic to help liberating Ornell from the undeads created by Thelron, he noted with amazing the Edryon’s brother, who
showed in his face an evil and merciless expression. Thelron walked beside Kordius, although he seemed a little dissatisfied, and among them was also Ornell, shackled by chains of magical energy that bound his legs and arms.
“Take Edryon…”, the leader of the bards could not finish to say any word, after receiving a strong blow of trident to the head, while Kordius was laughing.
“We will bring this unfortunate to the fortress… and Ornell will stay there until death with Urentir, the son of the madman.”, said the sorcerer of the elementals, looking Thelron authoritatively.
Rasputin immediately knew he could not keep standing without taking any decision which could help Ornell. He followed the road, riding a black horse that was found near an old wooden house. When he arrived in front of the open iron gates, in the main entrance of the Hanneris’s city, and when the sun had already left the horizon, giving the place to a night covered with threatening dark clouds, the magician got off his horse, watching with grief, to dozens of grayskinned humanoids, walking with difficulty on the road, and scaring women and children.
The zombies were terrifying in appearance, screaming and saying words beyond recognition, some of them groaned as they tried to attack any person they met, and Rasputin suspected that Thelron might had invoked them. But at the same time it could not have been just him, he could not have created all that legion of undeads in such a short time, because many roads seemed increasingly filled with zombies, so Rasputin thought that maybe Edryon’s brother had received help from Kordius.
As he ran across the road, hitting small rays on the magical creatures that exploded into tiny pieces by the size of fingers, and realizing that he had spent his entire book of spells of the day, Rasputin noticed that near the tabern of Thornak, the dwarf, there was Arthos, the brother of Ellen. He looked downcast and with eyes full of tears, sitting on the dusty floor, near a broken barrel of wine, but when he saw the arrival of the magician, he got up quickly.
“It’s very sad, Arthos. I did not wanted Hanneris to pass again by new tragedies, but I see that there is still much to… restore the peace in our people.”, Rasputin said.
“No… Rasputin, peace will be impossible to conquer. You know, I miss my sister, I wished she…”, Arthos could not finish answering the wizard, while trying hard to not showing any sign of sadness.
Three days passed, and when the mage peered at the sun beginning to emerge on the horizon, he remembered that he should go to the Council of the Leaves, to warn the druids that it was the time to take a new decision for the city. Ornell and Urentir now did a great lack to the Hanneris’s government, and the people als
o seemed increasingly worried about the future of the world of Fynge.
The soldiers of King William II, who despite having lost his life in an unknown way, continued in the city, and many of them were riding to guard the entrance to the Council of the Leaves. Rasputin watched closely for two soldiers armed with small axes and wooden shields, which remained on surveillance at the main entrance of the Council.
“I came here to talk to the druids.”, the magician said.
“Nobody is allowed to enter, sir.”, one of the soldiers raised his ax, and continued on his guard position.
“You don’t have any choice… and I have no patience to continue arguing.”, Rasputin said in an irritated tone.
“Sir, they are in a reunion and they don’t want to be interrupted.”, replied the other soldier.
Red and threatening magical flames appeared in the air before the men, that now seemed startled, with the bodies paralyzed with terror. After that, Rasputin yelled strange words and gestures increasingly complicated, the soldiers quickly moved away from the entrance gates.
In the main hall, some druids hurried, as if they know something that the magician was unaware. In a room full of conversations, which were mixed with applauses and sometimes protests, the round table of reunions was already occupied in all their seats in of white marble.
“I hope to have arrived at an opportune moment!”, Rasputin shouted, raising his magic staff in the air.
Immediately the silence was reigned in the Council of the Leaves. One of the druids, a tired-looking man, but wearing luxurious clothes, rings, and big and dirty red hair, looked at the magician with an expression of anger and said:
“Rasputin… the man who most brought us problems… now what he intended with this invasion?”
“Needless to say dirty words… as if I was not here in this room. The reunion should continue, but with my presence, like it or not.”
“Soldiers! Get this fool out of here!”, shouted the druid, then ten guards entered the hall, with broad swords of steel.
When the soldiers came to arrest the magician, Rasputin opened his leather satchel and carefully removed a human head and a crown, shouting:
“Do you know who committed this atrocity to our majesty, our King William II? Gulinnar, that traitor! He is free on Hanneris, with the prince’s authorization, and we should not let more atrocities like this to happen!”
Soldiers, druids and even some servants who passed by with trays filled with bottles of wine and bread, stayed in silence and stood still, waiting for Rasputin, who sat on a chair that was prepared for the magician.
“How did you learn of the death of our king?”, the temporary leader of the druids asked, still not believing on what he was presencing.
Immediately Rasputin remembered Rengnar and Sturiol, the two barbarians who Gulinnar had hired to kill the majesty, and therefore the wizard felt he could no longer remain silent, not telling the truth to the druids. Conversations between the barbarians in the middle of roads of Hanneris, during the nights they remained on the Thornak’s tabern, made the magician to find out most of their plans, but at the same time they had already ran their main objective: to assassinate the King William II.
“The bastards are arrested, gagged, and it is up to you to decide their future. After half an hour Rengnar told me that he did wanted to tell. Sturiol also agreed, and he did not want to lose the tongue, just as his companion.”, Rasputin replied, as he tapped with the fingers of his right hand on the table, very anxious.
“I don’t think Gullinar would… have the courage to betray our people. If what you’re saying is really true, we have to find him, and then the people will decide what to do.”, said the leader.
Despite feeling increasingly confused with the many tragedies that have happened in the recent days, Rasputin wanted to warn the Council of the Leaves that it would be necessary to make an urgent journey. Ornell and Urentir could lose their lives, and a great sadness had taken over the magician, who needed to meet Sgnilliv to be able to say what would be his final decision.
“Actually, I came here to explain to you that I will travel with Sgnilliv, and I want you to take care of Hanneris, just as you value your spells from nature. We know that the energy field created on the city was not efficient, and Yllanis and her army will continue to bring us more problems. But we must not to give up.”, Rasputin said, leaving quickly the main entrance of the hall of reunions.
As he crossed the hall of the Council, looking out for some druids, which seemed a little irritated with his presence, Rasputin bumped into a man’s shoulder, and realized it was Arthos. He looked pretty scared, because his face revealed an unusual paleness, and his skin covered in sweat was also lighter and frail.
“What are you doing here? You also became one of them, is not it?”, the magician said.
“Yes, excuse me, Rasputin. I went to the mountains. They were there… those infected. I could not escape in time. Please… forgive me, but I also want to go with you.”
“If you heard my conversation in the meeting room, know that you can go too. But the Island of the Gnomes still hides many dangers that even the most experienced adventurers don’t know. Now get out of here and bring me that goblin, as fast as possible.”
Arthos walked down the hall, and when he left the Council of the Leaves, continued walking toward the tabern of Thornak, the dwarf. He could not get off the image of that strange woman, who had appeared in front of him during the war against the Kordius’s necromancers. Somehow she did remember Ellen, and therefore Arthos could not even believe she could be alive.
“Sgnilliv, maybe I’m going crazy, but I have something to tell you. I saw my sister… and she seemed to show me some sign. Do you think I even had some vision out of existence?”
“Don’t doubt that anything can happen in this world. Although you was against my relationship with Ellen, after all, a goblin can not to mingle with humans, I feel sorry for you. Now you’re an infected, is not it?”
Arthos closed the face in an expression of discontent, but even so he answered:
“That’s not the case, and I’m sorry for what’s happened. I’m sure that… woman… it was she, my sister! Ellen wanted to tell me something, she’s still alive!”
Three days of travel have passed, while Sgnilliv was holding firmly the helm of his old ship. Perhaps the world of Fynge has even changed significantly. The Island of the Gnomes would be the ideal place to begin a new journey. Arthos and Rasputin appeared anxious to be able to return to the laboratory.
“And Kimiru? He is still with the statue of Heng Lawf?”, Sgnilliv asked the magician.
“Yes, he preferred to travel alone. I hope he can resurrect… that bard.”
The goblin looked thoughtfully at the sky full of dark clouds. New challenges ahead, but he still had hopes that Edryon could be healed.
Table of Contents
Prologue - The Lord Of The Ancient World……………….. 11
Edryon (Book 1 of Edryon Trilogy) Page 24