The Arcane Staff Trilogy Box Set

by Hans Bezdek

  “I don’t either, but it’s all I’ve got left,” said Zeke, slowly backing away from Kriket and the horse. “All you need to know if you need to ride as fast as you can. There’s going to be a big explosion, and you need to get far enough away so you aren’t caught up in it!”

  “But-”

  “Stop arguing!” laughed Zeke.

  Kriket gave him a sad smile.

  “I’ll be sure to share the name of Zeke Northwood with all of the Resistance,” nodded the lizardman.

  “No,” said Zeke, shaking his head. “Share what happened here, but say that it was The Elf Thief who did it.”

  Kriket eyes widened. “You sure? You’re always correcting people and telling them to call you Zeke.”

  “Yeah,” said Zeke, swinging the Arcane Staff out at another demon. “Yeah, I’m sure!”

  Kriket hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Goodbye, Zeke Northwood.”

  Zeke continued to bat the demons away as he listened to Kriket ride off. The elf didn’t want to push his luck for too long, but figured he could give the lizardman a minute or two before unleashing his attack.

  Holding the Arcane Staff out towards the nearest demons, he let loose another ray of magic. The demons hissed as they were thrown back, but would ultimately get back up. As he suspected, he was going to have to go bigger.

  As if reading his mind, the Arcane Staff began to glow all across its body. It was prepared for him to do what he needed to.

  Zeke held the Arcane Staff over his head.

  This was probably going to be the end of him, but at least he’d take all these abominations with him. To think, this all started when Sloane saved him from just one...

  His hands started to shake as he thought back to meeting her, and when they met Delvin. It wasn’t even that long ago, but it felt like it had been years. He should’ve been honest with both of them from the beginning. He was wrong to have parted from them so needlessly. Those would be the only things he’d have changed. At least… at least he had saved them from a death like this one.

  “I… I’m sorry, Delvin,” said Zeke, choking back tears. He hated that he was filled with regret in his final moment, but he hoped his final act would in some small way help them. “I’m… I’m sorry, Sloane. T-Thanks for inviting me along.”

  Zeke slammed the ground with the Arcane Staff.

  His eyes filled with purple energy as the Staff let loose an explosion of light. Everything was touched by the intense magic. The demons melted away from the raw power, unable to even begin to scream. The trees all around them exploded into splinters, which then disintegrated out of existence.

  The elf couldn’t see it, but where the explosion of magic ended, gusts of wind never seen in this part of Linsuk shook the surrounding land. The walls of Burston shook dangerously, somehow not crumbling. The Resistance fighters were all wise enough to dive down when they first saw the explosion of light, saving them from being thrown every which way.

  As fast and sudden as the explosion came… it ended.

  The energy disappeared, leaving Zeke as the last thing standing for half a mile in each direction.

  Dark clouds appeared overhead, suddenly pouring down heavy rain.

  The Arcane Staff slipped from Zeke’s hands, and he collapsed to his knees.

  His breathing was slowed, and he couldn’t move. It was as if all the energy he ever had was suddenly gone from his body. Yet somehow… he was alive.

  He glanced down at the Arcane Staff. Had it somehow protected him when he set off that explosion? The purple glow that was always on the head of the Staff wasn’t there. That wasn’t good. He must’ve used all its power.

  Next to the Staff, a small puddle of water was forming. Zeke could just make out his reflection in the muddy puddle. The elf had definitely seen better days. He tried to smile down at himself, but was too tired.

  A purple glimmer of energy flashed over his eyes in the puddle, causing Zeke to hold his breath.

  What… What was that? Was that something in the puddle, or was that something that happened over his own eyes?

  He stared at the puddle for a while longer, willing the purple energy to show itself again.

  It didn’t.

  He closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. He was probably just seeing things.

  The sound of a single horse trotted up behind him, breaking him from his thoughts.

  “K-Kriket,” coughed Zeke. “I… I did it.”

  The horse stopped, and he heard the rider hop off and into the mud.

  “Somehow… Somehow, I didn’t die,” coughed Zeke as he tried to laugh. “I-Isn’t that cool?”

  “Very cool,” came a woman’s voice.

  Zeke’s eyes widened.

  “Y-You’re not Kriket,” he said, trying to turn his head back and get a look at who got to him so quickly.

  For once, he wasn’t fast enough.

  Something hard and heavy smacked against the back of his head.

  And then all he saw was black.

  Epilogue

  When the explosion happened, Kriket was thrown from his horse. They had just made it to the outskirts of the blast, but a bizarre wind had caught him off guard. The fall broke his left arm, but it was better than being eaten by a bunch of demons. He only wished that strange purple shield would’ve lasted past the blast.

  He knew Zeke wanted him to just keep riding, but there was something within the lizardman that just didn’t feel right about that. Figuring he would see if any of the elf remained, he rode for the center of the blast.

  After no more than a minute, Kriket saw a figure off in the distance. Hoping against hope, he rode on towards it. He couldn’t imagine it being anything other than Zeke. Had the elf really been able to survive a blast of that magnitude?

  A ways out, he realized that what he thought was one figure was actually three. A woman in a blue cloak stood over an elf, dragging him back towards her horse.

  “Hey!” laughed Kriket, riding hard as he neared the figure and the horse. That must’ve been the woman Zeke kept mentioning, Sloane. She must’ve come to help him fight with Burston even when the elf didn’t think they would! The gnome, Delvin, was probably somewhere close by.

  Kriket’s horse pulled up as he got close and the lizardman hopped off.

  The woman still had her back turned to him, preoccupied with Zeke.

  “Excuse me, Miss,” smiled Kriket. “You must be Sloane. Zeke’s told me a lot-”

  The woman dropped Zeke, spun on her heels, and reached her hand out towards Kriket. Black bonds of energy appeared around his neck, arms, legs, and waist. The energy pulled him up into the air, tightening until he couldn’t move and was hardly able to breathe.

  The woman underneath the blue cloak wasn’t a human at all. She was a fae.

  “I’m not sure if you’ve realized yet,” smiled the fae, “but I’m not Sloane.”

  “Y-Yup,” wheezed Kriket. “I-I got t-that much…”

  “Good,” she said, eyeing him up and down.

  “D-Deciding w-whether to k-kill me?” asked Kriket. “I-I’ll s-save you some t-trouble… D-do it.”

  The fae let out a giggle. “Suicide is a permanent answer to a temporary problem, you know.”

  Kriket glared at her.

  “Y-You killed m-my friend,” he hissed. “I-If you d-don’t kill m-me… I’ll k-kill you!”

  “Lizardmen,” sighed the fae, shaking her head. “Always so overdramatic. Your friend here, The Elf Thief… he isn’t dead.”

  “W-What?” asked Kriket, eyes widening.

  “Surprising, I know,” said the fae, looking around them. “This kind of raw power… I have no idea how he was able to survive such a blast. Admittedly, I might’ve swung my mace harder than I needed to in order to knock him out, but it pays to be sure with these kinds of things. I enjoyed our little chat, but we should really be off.”

  “W-Where are y-you taking him?”

  “If you really must know, I’
m taking him to Lord Kutarm,” smiled the fae.

  “S-So Zeke is as good as d-dead…” hissed Kriket.

  “I sure hope not,” giggled the fae. “I’m taking him there to kill Kutarm. Things could get pretty dicey for me if he fails.”

  “Y-You want t-to kill K-Kutarm?!” gasped Kriket.

  “Ugh, enough with the questions,” said the fae, rolling her galaxy filled eyes.

  The bond around Kriket’s neck tightened, cutting off his breathing.

  He tried to struggle, but it was no use. There was nothing he could do to stop her.

  “Oh, and don’t freak out,” said the fae, turning back to Zeke. “I’m only choking you out so you won’t follow me. I’ll make sure you won’t die. I feel like the elf wouldn’t like it if you did.”

  Kriket couldn’t figure out what her angle was, but the lack of oxygen didn’t exactly help him think.

  The last thing he saw before passing out was Zeke hoisted onto the fae’s horse, and the no longer glowing Arcane Staff on the elf’s back.

  The End.

  Final Barrier (Book 3)

  The Arcane Staff Series

  by Hans Bezdek

  Chapter 1

  “I mean, I’m scared to use my weapon, too,” admitted Delvin, shifting uncomfortably on his horse.

  “That isn’t surprising to anyone,” smirked Sloane. “I’m not afraid to use mine, we just haven’t gotten a good enough chance to do so yet. Do you just want me to try and shoot it at a tree or something?”

  “I suppose not,” sighed Delvin. “I want to see what it can do, though...”

  “I’ll try messing about with the Arcane Staff once we find Zeke. We shouldn’t waste any more time stopping.”

  She and Delvin had been riding down towards Burston for the past several days and were finally closing in. They were in high spirits after finding the Lost Citadel, and the lack of Kutarm’s men on the road made them rise higher. Kutarm’s forces must’ve gone to assist in the war at Burston, or fallen back after a defeat. Either way, that was good news for them.

  Unfortunately, that meant they hadn’t gotten a chance to really try out their new toys. Sloane was a bit nervous to break out the Arcane Staff, but she wanted to understand its power sooner rather than later. It was surely going to come in handy once they met up with Zeke and went to take on Lord Kutarm. Now that they had the money to help fund an army, there was nothing standing in their way that they wouldn’t be able to take down.

  “What is that?” asked Delvin, pointing up ahead and breaking Sloane’s thoughts.

  A hundred yards in front of them was a bizarre clearing. The ground was black, and it lacked all vegetation. Nothing stood more than an inch tall in the surrounding area. The road led straight to it, but then was made obscure. This must’ve happened after the road was set up.

  “I’ve never seen something like this,” mumbled Sloane as they tentatively entered the area. “Could this be from a fire?”

  Delvin looked around as they rode, paying close attention to the edges of the zone.

  “I don’t think so,” he said, shaking his head. “Look at the edges. If this was from a fire, there would be spots of black that went further than others. Everything here is even, as if this was from some kind of blast…”

  Sloane bit her lip as Delvin trailed off. Whatever this was, something powerful must have done it. The question was whether this was used against the Resistance or against Kutarm. Sloane wasn’t feeling so optimistic anymore.

  They passed through the blackened area and continued on towards Burston. The moved slowly forward, unsure of who won that battle or if whatever caused the devastation was waiting nearby. Sloane thought about reaching for the Arcane Staff but went for her trusty bow and arrow instead.

  Thankfully, whatever had caused the destruction seemed to have moved on. Additionally, they didn’t hear any worrying sounds of battle up ahead. After a few more minutes of riding, Sloane lowered her bow and smiled.

  Large, damaged walls stretched out before them. The structure was surrounded on all sides by a moat, a single bridge lowered down over it.

  They had finally made it to Burston.

  Their concern for the city was quickly wiped away as they saw dozens of men and women repairing the walls. In front of the city and near the bridge were several shoddily constructed fences, where over a hundred men and women dressed in black and blue sat in defeat. A few armed men patrolled around the fences, but none of the captives looked like they were going to be posing any problems. Not only had Burston won, but it looked like they managed to take some prisoners.

  “They must’ve done it!” cheered Delvin, pumping a fist into the air.

  “Looks that way,” smiled Sloane.

  Delvin opened up a small bag, smiling down at it as he spoke. “The city our friend went to go help won the battle!”

  “Marvelous news!” came Anthony’s voice. “Have you found your friend yet?”

  “Not yet, we just…” said Delvin, looking up and pausing. “Uh, we’ll have to get back to you.”

  “Back to me? What-” asked Anthony, his voice being cut off as Delvin closed the top of the bag and trotted over to the side of the bridge.

  “What are you doing?” asked Sloane, following behind him. “Do you see Zeke?”

  “No, but I see someone I know!” he said, waving to someone up ahead.

  A strange reptilian creature was slumped against the side of one of the fences, looking at the city with a drink in hand. His other arm was done up in a sling, which was the only clothing he had on above his waist. Sloane wasn’t one to judge, but she thought the creature’s stomach was a bit pudgy for attempting such a look.

  “Kriket!” shouted Delvin, scampering off his horse as he got close. “I thought that was you!”

  The lizard glanced over at his name being mentioned, his eyes growing wide with recognition as he noticed the gnome.

  “You… you were Zeke’s friend, right?” hissed Kriket, wincing as he got to his feet.

  “Good memory,” smiled Delvin. “It’s Delvin, and this is-”

  “Sloane,” smiled Kriket.

  “Oh, I thought you two never met…” mumbled Delvin as he scratched his head.

  “We haven’t, but Zeke mentioned the two of you constantly,” wheezed the lizard. “Your names were drilled into my head. The name’s Kriket.”

  “Nice to meet you,” smiled Sloane, sliding off her horse and joining them. “Looks like the Resistance won this one.”

  “You could say that,” nodded Kriket. “It wasn’t without some loss, though. The battle wasn’t easy.”

  “Looks like it,” Sloane nodded at his arm. “I take it you lost your shirt in battle, too. Has no one given a new one to you since the battle?”

  “Um, Sloane,” whispered Delvin. “That’s actually just how he dresses.”

  “Oh… sorry…”

  “No worries,” wheezed Kriket. “I’m sure my people’s dress can seem odd to outsiders.”

  That wasn’t exactly it, but Sloane let it be.

  “The battle here was supposed to go more smoothly, but unfortunately there was a traitor in our midsts,” began the lizard. “Thanks to her, the leaders in Kutarm’s army were able to gather additional troops, especially demons. If it weren’t for those creatures, we would’ve won handily. There’s only so much that an unprofessional militia can do against hundreds of demons, though.”

  “Hundreds?!” gasped Delvin. “How did you manage to defeat so many?”

  “Zeke,” shrugged Kriket. “We would’ve all died if it weren’t for him. The demons were about to invade the heart of Burston, but he got their attention with the Arcane Staff before that could happen.”

  Sloane smiled. It was hard to believe that the elf she met back in that small elven town of Re’Lus was responsible for saving a city the size of Burston.

  “Zeke and I rode off away from the Resistance and the city,” continued Kriket. “When we had gone some distance, Z
eke hopped off and told me to keep going. Using the power of the Arcane Staff, he somehow set off a blinding explosion that disintegrated all the demons that had surrounded him.”

  “That must’ve been the blacked ground we passed on our way here!” said Delvin.

  Kriket nodded. “After that, the rest of Kutarm’s people surrendered. They knew they couldn’t compete with that kind of raw power. That was three days ago.”

  “Three days, huh?” asked Delvin. “Is Zeke still here? Or did he move on to another town already?”

  Kriket turned and took another swig of his drink.

  Sloane didn’t like that response. The more she thought about it, the more she grew concerned. If all this were true, how could Zeke have possibly survived? If he had, why wasn’t he nearby?

  Sloane took a step forward, her heart suddenly racing. “Where’s Zeke?”

  The lizard didn’t meet her eye and remained silent.

  “Oh no,” said Delvin, his face dropping. “He… he sacrificed himself… didn’t he?”

  “That’s what he thought was going to happen,” said Kriket quietly.

  Sloane felt her eyes begin to water. This couldn’t be happening. They had just found the Lost Citadel and another Arcane Staff. Things were going their way, and she thought they’d be able to defeat Kutarm in no time once they got back with Zeke. If he was dead…

  “I shouldn’t have let him go by himself,” whispered Sloane, shaking her head. “We could’ve helped…”

  “Now hold on,” said Kriket, putting a hand up. “Things are bad, but they may not be as bad as you’re guessing they are.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Delvin, nervously wringing his hands. “Is Zeke not dead?”

  “I don’t know for sure, but he wasn’t dead the last time I saw him.”

  “Because the blast happened afterward,” sighed Sloane.

  “No,” said Kriket, shaking his head. “After the explosion happened, I went back to where he hopped off. It turns out that the blast somehow didn’t kill him. I wish I knew how but… it didn’t.”

  “He survived!?” gasped Delvin and Sloane.