by Dean Cadman
“Oh… it’s good to see you, my friend,” he said, sounding incredibly relieved. Then a heartbeat later his eyes went wide and he asked, “Did you succeed? Did you cross The Boundary into the land of The Keeper?”
Lusam nodded and smiled. “Yes, I did. But before we get into that, let me heal you,” Lusam replied, crouching down by his side. He placed a hand on Vultog’s arm and began repairing his badly damaged skin. Vultog stared in awe as the wounds on his arm began to close and heal before his eyes. Then, without warning, he suddenly pulled his arm away from Lusam’s touch.
“I… I… I’ll be fine,” he stammered, trying to get to his feet. “My injuries will heal by themselves.” He backed away from Lusam as if he was suddenly afraid of him, then looked closely at his partially healed arm.
“But surely you must be in a lot of pain?” Lusam said, extremely confused by his reaction.
“Pain is a warrior’s companion, as are the trophies of his battles,” Vultog replied.
Lusam didn’t have a clue what he was talking about at first, but as he watched him examining his own arm, he suddenly realised what he meant and chuckled loudly to himself.
“You want to keep your scars, don’t you?” Lusam asked, grinning widely at him.
Vultog gave him a stern look. “A warrior without scars, is no warrior at all, my friend,” he replied, a little defensively.
“I see. And you think that if you returned to your village unmarked, the others would assume that your quest had been too easy.” Lusam said. Vultog didn’t reply, but Lusam could tell that his assumption was spot on by the way he glared at him.
“Vultog, don’t be foolish. Let me heal your wounds,” Lusam said, stepping towards him. Vultog shook his head and took a step back. “Don’t worry. I’ll leave you with the scars,” he said, chuckling at the sight of the giant orc backing away from him.
Vultog stared at him for a moment, then asked, “Do you have to heal them fully?”
Lusam laughed loudly. “No, I don’t suppose I do. But let me at least close the open wounds so they don’t get infected in the forest. And you should also let me repair the deeper damage to your skin, or it might never heal properly.” Vultog thought for a moment, then reluctantly nodded to his request.
It was easy enough for Lusam to repair the worst of the damage and leave the scars intact. In fact, he even deepened a few of his scar ridges to emphasise them more, much to Vultog’s great delight judging by the smile that spread across his face. Vultog watched him work with a childlike curiosity and prodded enthusiastically at each new scar that he gained. Lusam couldn’t help smiling as he worked, marvelling at how different Vultog’s culture was to his own, yet how similar it was where it really mattered. He knew that he would miss him when he returned to his own world, but promised himself that he would return one day to see him again—if he could.
“There… all done,” Lusam said, confident that he’d repaired enough of his wounds to prevent infection or future problems. Vultog flexed the muscles in his arms, admiring how his new scars tugged at his skin.
“Thank you, my friend,” he said, grinning like a child who’d just received a box of new toys. “So, tell me about the land of The Keeper. Did you meet him? Did he like the gifts? What wonders did you see there? Did you find any more Soul Stones? And did you…”
“Whoa… stop,” Lusam said, cutting him off. “I’m afraid I didn’t see much of anything…”
“But you said that you passed through The Boundary.”
“Yes, I did. But there is also a gas veil like this one on the other side of the mountain,” Lusam said, gesturing towards the towering wall of gas.
Vultog’s shoulders visibly slumped at the news. “So you didn’t find any more Soul Stones then,” he replied, glumly.
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” Lusam replied, holding out the bulging bag with a grin on his face. Vultog looked down at the bag and his eyes slowly went wide. His mouth worked but no words came out, making him look like a puppeteer’s giant marionette. Lusam chuckled and handed him the bag. He took it willingly, but all he did was stare at it open-mouthed.
Eventually, Vultog managed to find his words and asked in a hushed voice, “How many?”
“Thirty-one,” Lusam replied. Vultog’s face went from complete shock to overwhelming joy in a fraction of a second. But it didn’t take him long to realise the implications of having so many Soul Stones, and his obvious joy quickly turned to deep thoughtfulness as he contemplated the choices that he now faced.
Eventually, Vultog turned back to Lusam and said, “You brought back thirty-one Soul Stones intentionally, didn’t you?”
Lusam nodded. “Yes, I did. But it’s up to you how many you want to present to your tribe. If you choose to give them all, that’s fine with me. However, it’s also okay if you choose to give them only thirty, or even twenty-nine. The choice is yours, Vultog. But whatever you choose, I need you to promise me two things. The first is that you will ensure the Soul Stones are distributed amongst the various tribes fairly, just as Hagu did.”
“Yes, Hagu was wise indeed to do such a thing. It’s a commonly held belief amongst our people that his actions prevented perpetual conflict between our tribes over ownership of the sacred Soul Stones. He made each tribe swear an oath never to steal another tribe’s Soul Stones. And also ensured that if that oath was ever broken, it would invoke the combined wrath of all the other tribes against the offenders. So you see, my friend, it would only be prudent of me to follow in Hagu’s footsteps and distribute these new Soul Stones equally amongst the tribes, as he once did.”
“Good. I’m very glad to hear you say that, Vultog. I would hate to think that I might be the cause of conflict between your people once I’m gone.”
“So, you still intend to return to your own world?”
“I’m afraid I have no choice. There are far too many people depending on me. If I fail to return, everyone in my world will eventually perish,” Lusam replied, then with a mirthless laugh, he added, “They still might. But if I can find what I came here for, they might at least have a chance.”
Vultog nodded slowly to his words. “It is the sign of a true warrior indeed that his entire people should rely on his deeds. You must be revered greatly amongst your own people,” he said, bowing his head in respect.
Lusam’s face flushed slightly even at the thought of it. He had never sought the fame and notoriety he had achieved in his own world, but here he was, doing it all over again in someone else’s world, too. He shook the thoughts from his mind. He couldn’t change what was already done. Nor could he change what he must still do.
“Some people in my world may look at me that way, Vultog. But truth be told, most don’t even know my name and are blissfully unaware of the dangers they will face if I fail to find what I’m looking for.”
“Then may The Keeper guide you to that goal, my friend,” Vultog said, bowing his head slightly.
Lusam smiled and nodded his thanks. He wasn’t sure if The Keeper existed anymore, but he would happily take his help if he did.
“And the second thing you wished me to do?” Vultog asked, cutting across his thoughts.
“Second? … Oh yes, sorry. I almost forgot,” Lusam replied. “I need you to make it a condition when giving the Soul Stones to the various tribes that they should always allow anyone who comes through the Keeper’s Gate access to them. Not to take them away, but to simply touch them if they choose to. But most importantly, even before they are made aware of the Soul Stones’ existence, you should check that they worship Aysha first. Aysha is to us, what The Keeper is to you. Under no circumstances should you ever allow access, or even acknowledge their existence to anyone who doesn’t worship Aysha.”
Lusam knew it was highly unlikely that anyone else would come through the sea arch, and certainly not during in his lifetime. But he also knew that it was at least possible at some point in the future. And if someone eventually did and they survived the portal, they w
ould no doubt be in desperate need of power, just as he had been. He had to assume that if they were powerful enough to survive the transition between the two realms, they would also be able to sense and utilise the magic within the Soul Stones. That, combined with the knowledge of further Soul Stones beyond The Sacred Mountain and the magical trail that he’d left marking the route through the mountain, might just be enough to save their lives. And if they happened to be on a similar mission to his own, maybe even a great many more lives too.
“I will, of course, do as you ask, my friend. But I cannot guarantee that all the tribes will adhere to those terms,” Vultog replied, sombrely. “You’ve seen for yourself the way our own Oracle behaves regarding matters related to The Keeper. And I can assure you that other tribes have similar issues with their own Oracles, too. The problem is, anything considered to have been touched by The Keeper, such as the sacred Soul Stones, are strictly forbidden to be handled without the Oracle’s blessing.”
Lusam could see how that might be a problem, but he also knew how easily he had manipulated the Oracle into allowing himself and Vultog to undertake the quest to collect more Soul Stones. If the other Oracles could be swayed just as easily, he didn’t think it would be much of an issue.
“Then inform the tribes that if they allow access to the Soul Stones, the person would, in turn, collect even more Soul Stones for them as payment,” Lusam replied. He guessed that any future Oracles would be just as likely to covet more Soul Stones as the current ones did. And there was also every likelihood that by the time such an action was required—if ever—many of the existing Soul Stones would have already been lost to failed Right of Ascension quests, making the acquisition of new ones an even higher priority.
Vultog grinned. “I see that you understand our Oracles well, my friend.”
“Let’s just say that they share certain… qualities, with various people in power back in my own world,” he replied, grinning back at him.
Vultog chuckled loudly. “I will miss you when you are gone, my friend.”
“And I you,” Lusam replied, offering his hand.
“I hope that you will find the time to visit our village again before you leave my world. I’m sure my people would want to celebrate your great victory.”
“Our victory,” Lusam corrected him. “And yes, I’ll try. Just as long as you don’t make me drink any more of that ale.”
Vultog roared with laughter and clapped him hard on the shoulder, almost knocking him clean off his feet. That was one thing he wasn’t going to miss, Lusam thought, as they began to say their long goodbyes.
Lusam had noticed a slight, but steadily increasing drain on his magical shield whilst they had been talking. He guessed that it was the fresh concentrated gas that had finally reached the outer edge of The Boundary, and was now affecting the air beyond with its increased potency. It wasn’t at all an issue for him, but he realised that it would likely impact heavily on Vultog as soon he was on his own outside the protection of his shield.
After a few moment’s thought, Lusam came up with a solution. He took a single Soul Stone from Vultog’s bag and placed an enchantment on it so that it could create a small magical shield of its own. He then added two more elements to the enchantment. The first was to filter any gas from the air within the shield, and the second was a visual element that made the Soul Stone glow whilst the shield was still active. He wasn’t sure how long the magical shield would last, but he guessed it would be at least a couple of hours. Which he knew would be plenty of time for Vultog to move beyond the worst of the gas.
When he handed the glowing Soul Stone back to Vultog, he seemed very reluctant to even touch it until he’d explained what he had done to it. And when he did finally take it, he still held it in his hand at arm’s length as if was about to explode.
“How do I stop it from glowing like that?” he asked, nervously.
“Don’t worry,” Lusam replied, chuckling to himself, “the enchantment will disappear by itself as soon as the magic within the Soul Stone drops to a certain level. Then it will return to normal, just like all the others.”
“And how long will that take?”
“Well, as long as you don’t start any fights with an ettin, or run headlong into a tree, it should last a couple of hours at least,” Lusam replied, grinning at him. “And you don’t have to hold it in your hand like that, either. It will work just the same if you put it back in the bag with the others.”
“And what happens if I do?” he asked, still staring at the glowing Soul Stone in his hand.
Lusam frowned at him. “Then I guess your arm will really ache after holding it out like that for two hours,” he replied, with a shrug.
“What?” Vultog said, turning towards him with a confused look on his face. “No. Not the Soul Stone. What happens if I meet an ettin, or something else that I need to fight off?”
“Oh, sorry. I thought you meant… never mind. The shield might be strong enough to withstand a single blow, but I would still duck if I were you, just in case,” Lusam replied, with a wide grin. Vultog’s laughter rang out through the forest, and Lusam found himself checking the sky above for any sign of attacking wyverns.
With one last handshake, the two friends bid each other a final farewell. Then one disappeared into the forest, whilst the other walked slowly towards the deadly gas of The Boundary—and an uncertain future.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Lusam found his way through the tunnel easily using his magical marker and emerged on the far side of the mountain in well under an hour. He’d had plenty of time to think about what to do next during his journey through the mountain, and when he reached the tunnel exit, he immediately put his plan into action. Cautious to avoid sliding down the scree slope again, he instead levitated himself off the ground well before exiting the tunnel. As soon as he cleared the entrance, he levitated himself directly upwards in line with the opening, and a few moments later broke through the top of the thick gas cloud into bright sunlight above.
The first thing he did was check the sky for any nearby wyverns. He checked in every direction, but apart from an odd looking bird here and there, the sky was completely empty. He didn’t understand it. There had been literally hundreds of them in the sky on the other side of the mountain. So why not here? He had seen many of the wyverns flying far higher than the summit, so it wasn’t as if they couldn’t fly over it. But whatever the reason was for their absence, he was grateful for it.
He turned back towards the mountain and created a small fireball in his right hand. Then instead of launching it, he simply sent it slowly towards the rock face and held it in position, feeding it more of his power to intensify the heat. He left it there for over a minute, before dispelling it and revealing a melted round mark in the rock. Now he would know where the tunnel entrance was when he returned, he thought, with a smile.
Suddenly he felt a strange prickling sensation, as if he was being watched. He quickly spun around, expecting to see a wyvern or another predator bearing down on him, but there was nothing there. He scanned the sky and the treeline beyond the gas cloud, but still, he couldn’t see anything. He shuddered involuntarily, as if someone had just trickled ice cold water down his back. He had planned to levitate himself several hundred feet into the air so that he could see the landscape from above.
But the strange feeling now gave him pause.
It took him a moment to gather himself again and realise how ridiculous it was. Here he was, almost at full power, and surrounded by thousands of Soul Stones. How could anything, short of a God or The Keeper himself, even be a threat to him? He tried to shake the feeling from his mind and began moving upwards, all the time scanning the sky around him for any signs of danger. He stayed as close to the rock face as he could and rose several hundred feet above the trees.
The feeling of uneasiness seemed to grow steadily as he ascended. As if he was becoming more and more vulnerable the further away from the ground he was. He couldn’
t really tell if it was all in his head, or if the threat was real. But he knew that he wanted to get back down to the ground as soon as possible, either way.
From his elevated position, he scanned the landscape before him, and two things became immediately apparent to him. The first was the sheer size of it. If it was indeed an island as he had suspected, it was certainly a very large one. He could see no signs of another coastline to the far north, only a seemingly endless forest all the way to the distant horizon. The second thing which struck him, was that unlike the other side of the mountain, there were no signs of habitation or settlements here. No plumes of smoke from campfires filtered through the trees like they had on the other side. And he could see no signs of cultivated land anywhere, only thick forest with an occasional natural clearing here and there.
The unnerving feeling of being watched remained, and he was just about to give up and return to the ground below when he caught a brief glint of something from the corner of his eye. He watched the area intently for several more minutes hoping to see it again, and was about to give up when his patience was rewarded with another brief glint of sunlight through the trees.
He strained his eyes to see what it was, but couldn’t quite make it out. At one point he thought he could see a spire of a building through the trees, but after staring at it for a while longer, he convinced himself that it was only a trick of the light and most likely just a misshapen tree. But there was definitely something there reflecting the sunlight, and in the absence of anything better to go on, he decided that he would check it out. Whatever it was, it looked to be about five or six miles to the north-east, and would no doubt take several hours to reach through the thick undergrowth of the forest. He shuddered again, as a fresh wave of uneasiness washed over him. He scanned the sky above and the treeline below him, but still, couldn’t see any potential danger. He looked down at the deadly gas cloud below, and couldn’t believe that he would ever consider it to be a safe refuge.