Scar glances over to him for a brief moment and then sees the one that he took out with his slugs, lying shattered on the ground. Seeing Stig’s mace on the ground at his feet, he kicks out and pushes the nearest creature back. Then in one fluid motion thrusts the sword in his right hand into the ground, bends over and picks up the mace, then strikes out at the closest creature. The mace strikes its shoulder.
He’s surprised to see the shoulder, along with the arm attached to it, come off the creature. “Bash them!” he cries out to the rest. “Cuts don’t hurt them!” Striking out with the broadside of his sword, he connects with the creature’s head and knocks it off. “Yeah!” he yells triumphantly as he begins laying into the rest.
Potbelly begins using the broadside of his sword and they soon have turned the creatures into a pile of dirt.
“We aren’t going to win this!” James yells to them. “We have to get out of here.”
They turn to see him standing there, legs shaking from the exertion of maintaining three barriers. Scar nods, then he and Potbelly go to help Reilin, Shorty and Perrilin where they are having trouble with their opponents.
The warrior priest facing off with Miko is showing mass damage to his armor and exposed skin. Miko himself has several wounds running with blood which begin to heal over rapidly as the magic of the Star works to preserve his life.
Brother Willim is not so fortunate. The warrior priest he’s up against shows very little damage form the battle and is still going strong. Jiron had to quit the battle with the warrior priest in order to deal with one of the earth creatures. But once he had it reduced to a pile of dirt he quickly returned to help him.
When the last of the earth creatures falls, James calls for the others to get into the saddle. That they have to get out of here. Just then a blinding flash of light erupts from the Star. Glancing that way, James sees Miko’s opponent fly backward and hit the ground. Another flash of light strikes the warrior priest where he lays on the ground. His body spasms, then grows still. Looking around, Miko begins moving to help Brother Willim and Jiron when Jiron hollers to him, “Help James!”
He turns and sees him there barely holding onto the barriers encasing the hell hounds. Leaving Brother Willim and Jiron to handle the remaining warrior priest, he makes his way quickly to the nearest hell hound. Holding the Star aloft, Miko envelopes the hell hound in a white glow. Between the glow and the barrier, the creature’s life force within is quickly snuffed out.
With the third barrier no longer needed, James is better able to maintain the remaining two. “Thanks,” he says to Miko.
Miko gives him a nod then moves to the next one where he repeats the process.
Brother Willim and Jiron are still not able to get the better of the warrior priest they are up against. Staff and knives are no match for the skill and speed with which their opponent attacks. Even with the power of his god, Brother Willim has received numerous wounds as he’s unable to keep up with his opponent’s speed.
Jiron tries to help, but he isn’t able to get in close enough with just his knives.
“Miko!” Scar yells urgently from where he and the others are by the horses.
Miko takes his eyes off the hell hound he’s working to destroy and sees the shadow that is even now approaching James. The magic of the Star disappears from around the hell hound as he turns it onto this new threat.
James sees the shadow approaching but there’s nothing he can do. When the glow surrounding the hell hound winks out, it appears again surrounding the shadow. Stopping it in its tracks, the glow begins sucking the life out of the shadow and sending it back to where it came from.
It’s all up to him now. James concentrates on the barrier of the hell hound Miko had all but destroyed and begins to shrink it still further. Despite the resistance he feels from the creature within, he’s able to at last implode it and destroy the creature.
The shadow encased in the glow of the Star begins shrieking as the white glow burns into its blackness. With one final ear piercing scream, it vanishes.
James now works on shrinking the barrier encasing the final hell hound. “Miko!” he hollers. When Miko turns toward him he yells, “We can’t stay. Go help Brother Willim and Jiron.”
Miko gives him a nod and rushes over to them with the light of the Star blazing forth. Drawing his sword, he joins the fray. Brother Willim disengages, his staff becoming still as Miko’s sword begins attacking the warrior priest.
“Jiron,” Brother Willim says, “Miko and I will finish here. Get to the horses.” Then from the corner of his eye he sees the first warrior priest that Miko took out beginning to stir. “Now!”
Jiron too sees the warrior priest beginning to recover. Running, he reaches the horses just as the barrier around the final hell hound implodes completely, destroying the creature. “James,” he yells. “Time to go!”
James nods his head and starts toward where the others are already mounted. Suddenly his legs give way and he falls to the ground. The strain of fighting to control three barriers against the struggle of the hell hounds took all he had. Weak as a kitten, he tries to get back up but his arms are too leathery.
Then Jiron is at his side and helps him to his feet. Scar is there a split second later and together they get him over to the horses. “Are you able to remain in the saddle?” Jiron asks as they reach the side of his horse.
“Yes,” he replies. “Just help me up.”
With Scar’s help, Jiron helps him into the saddle. A bit wobbly but he should be able to maintain his balance enough to get out of here. Tied across the back of another horse he sees the still body of Stig. “Is he alive?” he asks Potbelly.
“Yeah,” Potbelly replies. “But if we don’t get out of here and let Miko take care of him, I’m not sure for how long.”
Brother Willim is suddenly moving past James’ horse toward his own. Looking back at the warrior priest, he sees him entrapped with vines. “That’s not going to hold him long,” Miko says as he appears and mounts his horse.
“Let’s get out of here!” Jiron yells.
Taking the lead, Miko holds aloft the Star to maintain the clearing within the mist. Aleya and Shorty are riding double and Perrilin has the reins of the horse carrying Stig. James hangs on for dear life as Miko leads them back out of the mist. Bringing up the rear are Scar and Potbelly.
Then suddenly Scar cries out as his horse is struck from behind. Another hell hound has appeared and took a massive chunk out of his horse’s rear flank. Jumping clear of the saddle before the horse crashes to the ground, Scar hits the ground, rolls twice and comes up facing the approaching beast with both swords out.
The beast cries out as a shimmering field encases it and stops its forward movement. “Hurry!” yells James. Spots begin to dance before his eyes and he is leaning precariously in the saddle.
Potbelly kicks his horse and gallops back to Scar He reaches down a hand and Scar takes it, swinging up behind him. Kicking his horse, Potbelly races to rejoin the others.
“Alright?” James hollers to him as they come abreast of him.
“Just bruised,” Scar replies.
Then James feels the tell-tale prickling that always accompanies the working of magic. “They’re coming!” he hollers. Unable to spend the time to finish off the hell hound, he simply maintains the barrier as long as possible as he races away with the others.
Sagging over the neck of his horse, it’s all he can do now to simply hang on. If he had the strength he’d tie himself to the saddle, but he doubts if he can do even that little bit. As his horse runs, he begins to notice green shoots growing in the ground they’re racing over. Turning his head to look behind them, he sees brier bushes growing rapidly from the ground. A glance back to the front reveals the green glow around Brother Willim as he spreads seeds upon the ground as he rides.
Unable to hold the barrier any longer, he hopes they have a big enough lead on the hell hound to enable them to get away.
“How muc
h further?” Reilin asks.
“I don’t know,” replies Miko.
From his position at the rear, James continues glancing back into the mist. He prays that they’ll be able to get out and away before the warrior priests or the hell hound can catch up with them.
Then all of a sudden, they’re out of the Mists. From the way the sky is beginning to darken, it has to be just before dark. “Don’t stop!” yells James. Looking back, their pursuers have yet to make an appearance.
The light of the Star fades and finally winks out. Miko no longer needs it to keep back the mist. Riding hard, they race across the ground away from the wall of mist. When no pursuit is forthcoming out of the mist, Jiron has them slow down and then come to a stop.
“Why aren’t they pursuing?” Shorty asks.
“Who cares,” Scar says. Then to Miko he adds, “You better take a look at Stig.”
Miko sees him tied across the back of his horse and says, “Get him down.” As Scar and Potbelly remove him and lay him upon the ground, Miko says to Jiron, “Let me know instantly if anything comes out of the mist.”
“You got it,” he assures him.
Miko then goes over to Stig and with the Star begins working to revive him.
Jiron dismounts and goes over to where James is all but falling out of the saddle. “Here,” he says as he reaches his side. “Let me help you.”
Allowing him to help him down, James is soon sitting on the ground. “Shorty, keep an eye on the mist will you?” he asks.
“Already doing that,” he says. “What are we to do now?”
James looks up to see Perrilin coming over to sit next to him. “I don’t know,” he replies.
Perrilin looks him up and down with a worried look on his face. “You look tired,” he says.
“I am,” James replies. Sighing, he puts his head in his hands and closes his eyes in an attempt to stop the world from spinning.
“Are we to camp here?” Jiron asks.
“I don’t think doing so within sight of the mist is a good idea,” he replies. “It does move you know.”
“We all need a break,” Jiron says. “I wouldn’t push it more than another hour or so.”
“James!” Shorty exclaims as he gets to his feet and looks back the way they came.
They turn and see two figures emerging from within the mist. They stand there a moment, obviously looking toward where they have stopped, then return back into the mist.
“They mean not to follow?” asks Shorty.
“Looks that way,” replies James. “At least not at the moment.”
“Could be they’re gathering their forces before coming after us,” suggests Reilin.
“If that’s the case,” Jiron says, “we best not be anywhere near here when they do.” Glancing over to where Miko is working on Stig, he says, “As soon as Stig is ready to travel, we leave.”
The others nod their heads. James glances back to the mist and the temple hidden within. But how are they to get inside?
Chapter Thirty
Several minutes later, the glow surrounding Miko and Stig disappears. Miko comes to his feet and turns to the others. “He’ll live,” he says. “The creature’s blow cracked some ribs, and being tied across his horse’s back didn’t do much to help the injuries either. They’re fine now but he needs rest.”
“Can he take a couple hours in the saddle?” Jiron asks.
When Miko looks skeptical, James adds, “We really should try to get as far away from the mist as we can before stopping for the night.”
“The journey won’t be good for him,” he tells him. “But what must be, must be.”
“Alright then,” James announces. To Scar and Potbelly he says, “You two be in charge of helping Stig. The rest of us get ready to ride.”
As Scar and Potbelly assist a weak and wobbly Stig onto his horse, Jiron goes over to Aleya where she’s staring off toward mist. “You alright?” he asks.
Shrugging, she continues staring at the mist. “Is that what happens?” she asks.
“I’m not sure I understand what you are asking,” he tells her.
“When you and James go on your adventures,” she says then turns to gaze into his eyes. Pointing back to the mist she adds, “Do you get into situations like what we just went through?”
Nodding, he places his hand on her shoulder and says, “Sometimes. But not always.”
“I had no idea,” she admits. “Oh sure, we’ve been in scrapes since this summer began. But nothing like what we just went through.”
He can see the fear in her eyes, worry for what the future may hold. “I understand how you feel,” he tells her. “Back there, I was scared to death let me tell you. For a while I thought we were through.”
“What about next time?” she asks. “Suppose we don’t survive it? I’ve been thinking about what is going to happen should we somehow manage to find a way into the temple. I…I just don’t want to lose you.”
“Nor I you,” he says.
“Ahem.”
Looking over his shoulder, Jiron sees James and the others are already in the saddle. He turns back to her and gives her a hug and kiss. “Don’t worry, we’ll make it through this.”
Squeezing him tight, she says, “I hope so.”
Breaking off the embrace, they move to their horses and mount. “Okay,” he says to the others, “let’s go.” Leaving the mist behind them, he heads eastward. Aleya rides beside him.
It takes them over an hour before the mist disappears completely in the distance. Then they ride for another hour just for good measure before stopping for the night. When they do, Miko attends to the rest of the company who have injuries.
Scar and Potbelly help Stig from his horse and onto his blanket where he goes to sleep almost immediately. Dinner is cold rations as they do not wish to take the risk of someone being in the area and see their fire. Before the rest of the company turns in, James and Jiron move away from the others and talk of what they should do. Brother Willim joins them.
“Any ideas?” Jiron asks.
“One, but I’m not sure if you’re going to like it,” he replies.
“What?” asks Brother Willim.
James pulls out the medallion he recovered from the underground temple they passed through near the fortress of Kern. In the starlight the sign of the warrior priest is barely visible.
“You still have that?” he asks.
“Oh yeah,” he replies with a nod.
“What is it?” asks Brother Willim.
James hands it to him and he inspects it for a moment before handing it back. “Have you ever heard of warrior priests being able to travel great distances in the blink of an eye?” he asks.
“No,” he replies. “I have never heard that before.”
James replaces the medallion within his pouch and says, “We’ve come across a system of teleportation daises in several different locations. The last time Jiron and I used one, we ended up in the very same temple complex where I first found this medallion.” He looks to Brother Willim to gauge his reaction.
“I’m not sure I’m following you,” he admits.
“Okay, let me explain it this way,” he says. Bending over, he pulls an old exposed plant root out of the ground and draws two circles in the dirt a foot apart. Pointing to the circles he says, “Suppose these represent two of the teleportation daises in two different temples. Say the temples are separated by a hundred miles of land and water. You with me so far?”
“Yes,” nods Brother Willim. “Go on.”
“Now,” he begins then points to the circle on the left, “should a person bearing one of these medallions step upon this dais, he will be instantaneously transported to the other.” Moving his root from the left circle, he brings it over and taps the one on the right. “I’m sure there is a way to control where the daises send you. The only problem is that I haven’t figured it out yet.”
“What do you propose to do then?” Brother Willim asks.
/> “Find someone who does,” he explains.
“But wouldn’t that mean someone who has access to one of the medallions?” observes Brother Willim.
“That’s right,” says Jiron. “And the only ones who would, would be those in the temples.”
“I would even guess it to be only those in the temple hierarchy,” James says. “Which would mean they would be quite powerful.”
“And you’re planning on forcing one of them to help you?” he asks.
James nods. “I’m not sure how yet, or where, but we’re running out of time.”
“Perrilin’s spent time down here,” Jiron says. “He may know of something that would suit our purpose.”
“You’re right,” agrees James. “Bring him over if you would.”
“Be right back,” he says then gets up and heads over to where the others are beginning to fall asleep. In little more than a minute, he returns with Perrilin.
James gives him a rundown of what they plan and then asks him if there are any major temples nearby. “It needs to be a fairly large one as I’m not sure if they are all equipped with these teleportation daises.”
“They’re not going to help you,” he tells them. “You better understand that right now.” He can see the determination in their eyes and adds, “They will die before they do.”
“What other choice do we have?” Jiron asks. “Our time is beginning to run out.”
He glances from James to Jiron then back again. Remaining silent while he searches their eyes, he finally asks, “You seriously mean to go through with this?”
“Yes we are,” Jiron states with finality.
“Very well then.” He then grins as he says, “If we don’t get ourselves killed in the process, this will make one unbelievable saga.”
Jiron chuckles, “You got that right. It already has been.”
“Now Cyst, the town we left rather abruptly had a temple, but it wasn’t what you would call a main one,” he explains. “Further to the south is a larger town by the name of Zixtyn. I’ve been there several times and the temple there trains many of Dmon-Li’s new acolytes. It’s not just a single temple but a complex of over a dozen large buildings and another score or more of auxiliary structures. If there’s any place that would have one of those teleportation daises, it’s there.”
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