by Dawn Chapman
He zoomed in a little further, and the picture stopped. “I cannot see what is beyond this area. There has never been a time I wasn’t able to see it. Whatever is going on is beyond us, beyond the programming.”
Again, I had to ask, “What does all this have to do with me?”
“I am getting there, Akillia, but I wanted you to see and take in things for yourself. There’s been a lot of talk most recently about an NPC.”
“Maddie,” I already knew what he was going to say and why. “Look,” I stopped him from continuing to explain when I already knew a little, “we’re obviously in something way bigger than anyone has thought of. I am, according to Abel, supposed to meet up with her and try to work this all through. You’re telling me that there are others who also want to speak with her?”
“Yes, that includes me. The problem is, watch the screen…”
I watched the screen as a multicoloured woman, and a man, walked through the portal. “The problem is she’s not on Puatera anymore.”
I swallowed. “How can an NPC leave this world?” Or better yet, this computer system?
“Exactly my question. I’d really like to figure that one out. She left with this other Visitor, and I believe is trying to do something in the real world.”
I thought about it all for a moment and then felt a tugging at my mind. There was a voice, faint. And it wasn’t Zurath.
I moved away from Kamaal, and to the side of the room, hoping he couldn’t hear or feel anything. Then a message scrolled across in front of me.
Akillia, do not reveal any more information. Please. Just listen to what he is telling you. I will contact you again when you’re out of his interference.
I read the note, but didn’t react, and then continued to watch the screen in front of me. Now there were other people around the portal opening.
“I’d like to go where this is. Do you know.”
“That is your destination I believe, Hell’s Pass.”
How did he know that? Why did he know it? I watched the way he reacted to my body language, and many other things, and waited for more. I would do as the message told me. I wouldn’t allow any other information to pass my lips. If this were some kind of trap, then I wouldn’t let this be the downfall of Puatera or the people with which I had grown to care about. I mean, the young boy Sven and his sister—all they wanted was the best in life, and I wanted that for them, too. He would return to her, and he would start a new life with a family that could help and do the best for him.
I looked to the door and motioned to Kamaal. “Let me see Abel, please. I have some things to discuss with him before we agree to any kind of aid. I don’t know what your intentions are, and I don’t know the other demigods of this world. I need to know more. I must know more. I also want my Familiar inside your walls, or I will leave.”
I noticed the demigod flinch. “The creature of the skies will not be happy within my walls.”
“I don’t care. He will do as I ask, and he will feel happier with me. He belongs to me, as I do to him, and without that bond, we start to drift. I need him, and this quest needs him by my side.”
I looked out to the bare walls. There was a need of life in here, but the life I sensed from these creatures wanted the comfort of death around them. They weren’t dead, but they needed to feel that death protected them.
I liked the way Kamaal ran his small kingdom. He obviously had the respect of all the people in here, but there was a drain.
In his presence, I felt if I hadn’t had the protection of the animal world, I’d be open food for him—draining my soul my person, and my health. I felt a little on the sick side, but I didn’t let him see as my body wobbled. Maybe he sensed it, but he didn’t show that he knew, either.
The door opened, and I could see that Abel was still talking with Patrise. He noticed me and smiled. Would there be an answer in Hell’s Pass? Would I get anything from the person who sent the message to me? Who in fact was this person? Was it the A.I. controlling the game? If it was, then why me? Wouldn’t everyone in my world see what was going on in here and wonder? I tried to breathe in, ignoring the wobble of my legs. I needed some food and a drink. I think the humidity was getting to me.
“No, Akillia,” Kamaal said. “The souls around you in here aren’t the kind of creatures that give. They take, and they take all the time—not just from each other, but any living creature. Your soul shines in here more than anything they’ve seen in a long time. You’ve been attacked by several demons at once. I need to get you into a different room where their spells and magic can’t reach you. I apologise.”
I followed Kamaal out into the room. Abel was soon at my side, and they both walked me to a side room where there was a faint glowing yellow energy. Abel noticed the ward but then nodded towards Kamaal. “This won’t hurt us in any way? It is just for protection?”
Kamaal nodded. “Creatures are floating through my domain that I can’t control. They have free rein. There are certain places within my facility that they aren’t allowed in.”
I stepped into the room and then into what looked more like a lounge with a bar, couch area, and an office desk and more. I went straight to the couch and plonked down. Abel was at my side in seconds. “I’m okay. Don’t panic. Get me a drink, though, and we’ll wait for permission to go back outside. I need to fetch Zurath in here.”
Abel looked worried, but then nodded, and went to get me a drink. I sipped it carefully while Kamaal and Patrise discussed their next moves at the doorway.
I could overhear parts of their conversation, but then not others. I think they were baiting me. However, I noticed that Patrise handed Kamaal an object. To me, it looked like a flat black stone. He fingered it lightly and then locked eyes with me. Then he walked over while Abel was out of earshot.
“I know you’re not staying here. It’s fine. It is a decision you have to make. Please, take this though. It will allow you or one of your party to come back and seek me out. I offer you alliance, and I mean that. I will see you once again.”
It wasn’t long after that I started to feel better, and Kamaal let us back outside for us to leave. The large bird landed at my side with ease. His wings and magical energy were harnessed and on full display. I reached out tentatively to him, and this time, he spoke.
“These creatures here are wrong.”
I understood that more than he could know, but then there was the little ping of my system again.
I looked at the display and noticed the message. Accessing it, I saw this:
Waiting on you, Akillia.
“I am here, who are you and what do you need?”
A friend. Get to Hell’s Pass as soon as you can. You mustn’t stop here. They aren’t your enemy, but you do not have time.
I had no reason to trust the voice any more than I had Kamaal, but I turned to Abel and managed to gain his attention. “I like what Kamaal was promising, and we will see him again soon, but we are leaving now.”
Abel turned to look into the gates where Patrise was watching. “I don’t think they’re going to take it very lightly if we walk away.”
“They already know, but we must leave. He knew all about Dresel and Maddie, and more than that—the portals and Earth and there’s something else, something you all don’t know about, but he’s fighting for his life out there. He said the whole of Port Vacol is gone.”
I didn’t know where Port Vocol was, so I checked the maps I had stored. It was far to our north on Kamaal’s borders. It didn’t sound good. If Kamaal couldn’t defend against this foe, what chance would our small party have?
Abel’s face fell, his eyes widened. “What?”
“Exactly. I know you’ve told me a lot of things, but I did not like the feeling he gave me in that room. The evil here is pure. I don’t think even you want to know what they’re capable of, but they’re telling the truth—we need each other. Maybe not just yet, but we will.”
Abel looked out to the end of the street. The w
agons were settled and the horses tied up for the night. “You think it’s really wise to leave now at night?”
“We don’t have a choice. We’ll keep our guard up and a watch on everything that goes on around us, but we’re leaving. The road ahead can be lit with Zurath’s energy. We’ll be fine on the way out, but we’re heading into the forest now, towards Hell’s Pass. If we need to, we’ll be there by the next morning.”
Abel moved to walk away. I held my arm out for Zurath, who hopped on, and then, with a flap, was up and by the side of my head in a moment. His wingspan enveloped the side of my head in an almost cloak like appearance. I wondered what he actually looked like sitting there. Did it look as intimidating as I felt it was? Because, with the energy he was pushing out, I could only imagine others being scared.
“I just need a moment before we leave.”
I walked away against Abel’s protests and stood before Kamaal. Kamaal actually lowered his head to Zurath. The energy around me faded slightly. I knew it was mutual respect from the two of them. I accepted that and spoke clearly, “We are supposed to be heading to Hell’s Pass right now. We can’t stay for more of your hospitality. There’s much that we need to do, as you’ve said.”
Kamaal nodded. “I understand this, and I will not hold any of it against you. I do hope that we can talk again soon, though. We’re in need of people like you on our side, Akillia.”
“I don’t know that I’m on anyone’s side.”
“If you need me, use the stone.” Kamaal lowered his head once more. Turning, he walked away and back into the dark citadel—that I now knew it was.
Patrise didn’t react. She just followed him. And I tried my best not to feel intimidated.
QUEST UPDATED — RETURN TO MERIDIAN WITH THE HISMAW — PAUSED
YOU MUST REACH HELL’S PASS — QUEST WILL UPDATE ONCE YOU ARE THERE.
I flicked it away. So, the timer issue had at least moved. It left the foreboding question of what the hell was really going on here, though. I had the strangest feeling getting to Hell’s Pass would be another bump in the journey. A journey no one knew where it would finally take us.
Once Kamaal and Patrise had gone, I moved to walk back with Abel at my side. Zurath moved down from around my neck and settled back on my arm. I was getting stronger, I knew, but he was getting fatter. The weight of the bird on my arm was huge. “I apologise, Akillia, I am growing faster than even I thought I would.”
“You’re growing faster? Why?”
“There’s a war coming.We must be ready. For all of Puatera is at risk.
“I know.”
“Then we must also get you to grow. I will start to teach you more about our magic. Together, we’re much stronger than they are.”
I glanced back to the citadel. “You mean we’re stronger than a demigod.”
“Not yet, but we will be. We must grow together, and this journey will allow us both to do that.”
“Told you something wasn’t right about that place,” Abel said as he thought we were out of earshot of any of the spirits.
“I had hoped it was a good thing, but I see more evil the more I look at it.”
“Evil isn’t bad. You just need to know how to manage it. We’re managing it by leaving.”
Chapter 29
The forest ahead didn’t look inviting, and the pathway we could see didn’t look easy, but we managed to make some headway, and soon, the full moon was lighting our path through the trees.
Myleen rode up alongside me, her hand sitting on her sword. “We don’t need the details,” she said. “We trust you.”
“It seems a little silly now that we’re heading into the lands that surround a dark citadel.”
Myleen looked ahead. “If we were in the wrong place, we needed to go. It’s better out there, where we can openly defend ourselves.”
“I think they’ll follow us. Somehow.”
“I agree. That’s why Borroth and Abel are in the rear.”
“There have been a few changes to our mission,” I said. “Getting the Hismaw might be harder than we think.”
“There are always changes to Quests, don’t worry. We’ll get the Hismaw, and we’ll get it home in time.”
I loved how confident she was. The way she rode and held herself was something I needed to model myself after. She already knew my fears. “We’ve come a long way. You’ve brought us this far. Without you and Zurath, we’d never have gotten through that razor stream, and you know we’d have tried.”
I did know that. She and the others would have tried to complete the mission without me if they’d not seen the flames from the beach. It could have been a very different outcome.
“Well, I’m a great believer in fate—and karma.”
Myleen nodded, and then she seemed to cock her head to one side. “You hear that?” she whispered.
I listened, and then I did hear something. Animals maybe? I wasn’t so sure. No. “Sounds like people.”
“Sounds like a fight.” Myleen drew her sword. Raising a hand, she sparked her magical energy. I heard the wagon wheels behind us stop. The other horses made their way to us carrying Borroth and Abel, Alec and Ferris on foot. I dismounted. “There’s a fight up ahead. It’s loud enough we can hear it, but it’s not close enough to see.”
Abel motioned to my bow. “We might need you on this. You up for it?”
I cradled it, nodding. “Whatever’s going on out there, we’ll take a look.”
Together, the four of us—Abel, Borroth, Myleen, and I crept forward. The others stayed with our party. If it were some kind of trap, we would be alerted.
“Zurath, I know it’s dark. Take flight and see if anything is viewable from the skies.” I’d left him roosting on the back of the wagon while we’d gone on ahead.
I heard Zurath more than saw him until his flame-lit trail lit up the sky behind us.
Then, within a second, I merged with him. Getting used to doing this was part of my training now. Morning and evening flights out, it was also a nice time to bond. Whether I liked heights or not, this was a completely different experience, and seeing the world from this angle was amazing. In the dark, not so much, but I soon realised this beautiful creature could harness night vision.
It seemed from so high up that there was indeed quite a battle going on. The heat signatures of several people in a defensive position were easy to spot. Then I noticed a blue glow around what I could only think of as an enemy. They were easy to spot. I relayed my information to Myleen as we kept moving forward. She was now my guide while my eyes were in the sky. She was also the one who would defend me if we were attacked.
I edged Zurath on closer to the fight. Then a couple of the heat signatures blinked out, they were down to five.
“We need to get to them now, or there won’t be anyone left.” I brought my energy back to my body, and we sprinted, catching up with Abel and Borroth as they drew near to the fight.
Five what looked like elves—two older ones and three teens—were being swamped by other dark creatures. I’d no clue as to what they were, but they needed to be stopped.
Abel and Borroth saw us and immediately threw themselves into the battle. The creatures hadn’t known we were there, and the sneak attack caught them off guard. What were ten smaller creatures was soon down to six? I started to pick off the others while Myleen went in. She was as adept at fighting as Abel. I watched a little in awe. Zurath landed in a tree by my side, and I watched as he sucked in energy from the land around him, and then started to shoot out fire blasts.
That was when I noticed someone step from the tree line. Identifying him as Dark Goblin Lord, I saw he was about to target Abel with a spell, his swirling magic taking on a red hue—a very dangerous colour.
He was obviously a lot more powerful than any of us were, but maybe we’d have a chance together.
When he turned, he looked not to me, but to Zurath. That was when I saw the Familiar I’d gotten used to having around do something comple
tely out of character. He didn’t let the goblin lord even start to gather energy to attack. Zurath launched himself towards him at speed I’d never seen. Claws, beak, and magical energy sent out in one massive swoop.
The blast radius from their collision sped out and hit me hard, throwing me back against the trees and bushes behind me. Scratched and sore, I stood to watch in awe as my Familiar attacked with pure venom.
I couldn’t follow it. In the end, they moved quickly, but my attention was drawn back to Abel and the others. What looked to be the oldest boy was in a full-on sword fight with a large green monster. I thought goblins were supposed to be small creatures that were easy to fight off for newer Visitors. These were not easy—they were tough fighters. Knocking an arrow to the bow, I tried to imbue it with magical energy so that its aim would be truer, and I let loose. The arrow flew straight and hit exactly where I wanted it to go. The goblin fell, and the boy’s eyes locked with mine. He didn’t react in any other way but focussed on the next attacker, one who was heading towards the other two teens. I could now see they were sisters.
My eye caught on just as one of the older dark elves collapsed with a goblin leaning over her about to strike. I didn’t think I was going to be quick enough, but I tried. The arrow didn’t hit as good this time around, but it was enough to knock the goblin off its stride, and her partner decapitated it in one quick swoop.
I heard Zurath screech and turned to see he had severely wounded the goblin lord. Borroth was now engaged with him in hand-to-hand, and it looked like Borroth was winning. The final smaller creature went down, and I watched as Borroth took out their lord.
KARMA BONUS AWARDED — TWENTY GOLD PIECES
I felt elated. I finally had some decent cash, but then looked around worried. It was over. My friends were tired by the looks of it, but there were no major injuries.
I moved to Abel’s side. I noticed the blood dripping from his side. “It will heal. Just a scratch.”