by KJ Siirila
“I know what you mean Slothard, I thought I was going to strangle the one that came with us. They are foul mouthed hideous hags and they will be destroyed.” Wagrim looked into the fire searching for an answer.
“I’m not sure what we should do about the warlocks. I can’t believe they’re going back into the Forest of Shadows. They are out of the picture now, so it’s the witches we must deal with.” Slothard stood and walked over to the window and stared at the lights flickering in the witch’s castle.
“We should go to the castle when they warlocks leave and steal the bottle containing Helmog off the shelf. I think we can find the spell in their book to bring him back from the ashes.” Wagrim stood up and walked over to Slothard. “We need him Slothard, as much as I hate to say it.”
“I know Wagrim.”
Slothard and Wagrim stood staring out the window waiting for the warlocks to leave.
Olagh and Izasa left the perch of Tourmani’s home when they thought it was safe again to walk on the ground below them.
“What was that Olagh?”
“I’m not sure. We must leave this village and move swiftly back to our fortress.” Olagh began running with Izasa behind him.
“We should stay off the ground as much as possible Olagh. It’s dangerous.” Izasa called to him.
“I know Izasa. Just keep moving. Don’t stop for any reason, that’s when it seems to take you.”
They ran quickly for about an hour and then climbed a tree to rest.
“We must warn our fortress immediately Izasa. We are in danger here and I think it might be best if we took everyone and moved them into the Valley of Illumination until we can figure out what it is.”
“I agree. We must not get caught in the Valley of Illumination though. We don’t belong there and would be obvious to the eye. We’ll hide as well as we can away from the rest of the creatures.”
“Let’s be on our way then.” Olagh jumped from the tree and Izasa followed him closely as they ran through the Forest of Shadows.
Crovis and Trovis were preparing for their trip to the Forest of Shadows. They had no idea what they were walking into. It was very dangerous to travel through the forest now.
“We should be on our way then.” Crovis lifted his bag and threw it over his shoulder.
“I still can’t believe we have to go into the Forest of Shadows, although I think it’ll be good to get away from the sisters for awhile.”
“I’d live in the Valley of Illumination to get away from the sisters.” Crovis laughed.
“Let’s go then.” Trovis grabbed his bag and the two walked towards the main door. Just as they reached the main door Grimelda came out of the darkness and stood before them.
“Leaving without saying goodbye brothers?”
“Goodbye sister.” Crovis tried to push past her and she stopped him.
“I know you’re up to something. I can smell it on you. I’m warning you now brothers, if you deceive me I will destroy you.” She grimaced at them.
“Don’t threaten us sister. We have powers too and we’re not afraid of you.” Trovis stepped forward. “Now move out of the way you hideous hag, we have work to do.”
Crovis and Trovis pushed past her and out the door. Grimelda was shocked over what they had just said and done. She would find the Book of Elandor and she would bring the dead sisters back and then destroy the brothers.
The brothers laughed as they walked down the path to the Forest of Shadows. They loathed the sisters.
“Don’t you do this, don’t you do that. Who does that beast think she is?” Crovis asked.
“I don’t know Crovis but she thinks she’s scary. The only thing that’s scary about her is her face.” He chuckled.
“If we find the Book of Elandor in the Forest of Shadows we will definitely use it to destroy them.” Crovis stopped quickly. “Let’s fly to the center of the forest, it’s so much faster.”
They began flying into the night sky into the Forest of Shadows.
The Shaman, Sindor, Micael and Ovit had gathered around the fire.
“It’s obvious the book isn’t here.” The Shaman said while he smoked his pipe.
“Is there another lake Sindor?” Micael asked.
Sindor thought for a moment and then grinned. “Yes there is one more lake in the mountains and it’s not too far from here. We could reach it within an hour.”
They all stood up and began preparing for the next leg of their adventure.
“If the book isn’t at the next lake Shaman what will we do then?” Micael asked.
“We’ll have no choice but to go back to the Valley of Illumination Micael and join the Angelic Spirits. We will have to decide from there how to approach this situation.” The Shaman grabbed his belongings and they all followed Sindor onto the next path.
The ghouls watched the witch’s castle and when they saw the warlocks leaving they left their castle. They stood outside of the witch’s castle for quite some time before they began their climb up the wall to the rooftop above. Once they reached the roof they stopped and decided to sneak carefully into the back entrance of the castle.
“We mustn’t let the witches see us Wagrim.”
“If we move carefully we should be able to reach their altar room without getting caught.” Slothard began creeping along the castle wall.
They were extremely careful looking around every corner before they moved forward. They made it inside of the castle and close to the altar room when they heard voices coming from the hallway. They stepped back and hid in the shadows until the voices were gone. Slothard crept into the altar room first followed by Wagrim.
They looked on the shelf and saw Helmog’s bottle.
“I’ll get Helmog you get their spell book.” Slothard walked over to the shelf and grabbed the bottle down and put it in his pocket.
Wagrim searched through the book until he found the spell to bring him back. He ripped it out and put it in his pocket. He forgot to close the book.
They crept out of the altar room and back to the rooftop and climbed down the castle wall once more and moved into the darkness.
The ghouls reached their castle and went into the sitting room with the bottle. They set it down on the floor and read the spell. Just as they finished the last word, the ashes began to rise from the bottle and then a cloud of smoke. They heard coughing.
“It’s about time you idiots.” They heard Helmog say from the cloud of smoke.
“There’s gratitude for you Wagrim.” Slothard rolled his eyes.
“What took so long?” Helmog joined them now brushing the dust off his cloak.
“We had quite the adventure with the witches and warlocks Helmog. It’s too bad you missed it.” Wagrim laughed.
“What should we do now? Where are the warlocks?” Helmog asked.
“The sisters sent them into the Forest of Shadows to look for the Book of Elandor.” Slothard sat down in front of the fireplace.
“The Forest of Shadows? I didn’t think the book was anywhere near the Forest of Shadows.” Helmog scoffed.
“It’s not Helmog. The witches obviously wanted the warlocks out of the way because they have another plan in mind for all of us.” Wagrim seated himself close to Slothard.
“Should we follow the warlocks into the Forest of Shadows?” Helmog asked.
“No I think we should stay here at the castle until we can come up with a solid plan to find the Book of Elandor. The witches will be furious when they discover that I’ve been set free so we’ll have to watch our backs.” Slothard stood up and walked over to the window watching the flickering lights once more.
“It’s settled then. We’ll stay where we are for the moment.” Helmog walked out of the room.
Wagrim and Slothard looked at each other and smirked.
The Angelic Spirits had decided they had to tell the Princess Fimella what they knew about her mother. They sent a myrmidon to summon her to the castle. They sat around the table and waited for
her. She flew into the window not long after and Mitral told her the news.
The Princess sat on the window sill for a long time after and stared into the sky.
“Are you sure you’re not mistaken?” She asked.
“No Princess. We’re very sorry.” Mitral walked over to her and looked down with sadness in his eyes.
“I will have to tell the fairies what’s happened.” A tear fell from her eye. “I will miss my mother. There will never be another fairy like her.”
The Princess Fimella didn’t look at the Angelic Spirits as she left the castle window.
The Angelic Spirits sat back at the table.
“It was the right thing to do Mitral and Ademus.” Aerifus said reassuringly.
“I know Aerifus. She’s so young I’m not sure how she will take this horrible news.” Mitral looked at his friends solemnly.
“I think she will be a strong ruler just like the Queen Armad was. I don’t think we need to worry as much as we are about her.” Ademus smiled.
“I agree Ademus. I think she’s strong and she will handle this the way a true Queen would.” Mitral smiled back at him.
The Angelic Spirits sat looking at one another and then looked out the window as if they were searching for an answer.
It didn’t take Crovis and Trovis long to fly into the Forest of Shadows. They landed in the center near the swamps.
“So what are we looking for exactly Crovis?” Trovis asked.
“I have no idea Trovis. They sent us here on a wild goose chase. They don’t expect us to find anything they just wanted us out of the picture for awhile.” Crovis set his things down and began walking around.
“Should we just rest here for a few days then go back to the Midnight Mountains and tell them we didn’t find anything?” Trovis laughed.
“That was my plan.” Crovis sat down on the ground. “I think the sisters have gone mad Trovis. I hope they never find the book. I’d rather the Angelic Spirits get the book before they do.”
Trovis looked shocked by Crovis’s remark. “Are you serious? The Angelic Spirits?”
“Trovis, if the sisters get their hands on the Book of Elandor before anyone else does we will be the first casualty.”
“You’re right brother.” Trovis leaned over to his right side to take something out of his bag and couldn’t find it. “Crovis my bag is missing.” He stood up and began looking everywhere for it.
“I’m sure you set it over there somewhere Trovis.” Crovis rolled over and closed his eyes. “Did you find it?”
There was no answer. Crovis opened his eyes slowly and sat up. “Trovis?”
Crovis stood and began looking around. “Trovis quit playing games, where are you? This isn’t funny anymore.”
Crovis walked closer to the spot where they had entered the Forest of Shadows and still saw nothing. Suddenly, the ground opened up and Crovis fell through.
About an hour had passed when Crovis opened his eyes. He saw Trovis lying close to him. He had no idea what happened or where he was. Crovis stood up slowly still groggy from his fall.
He wasn’t sure where he was but it was a tunnel of some kind. It was dark but he could see a glowing red light at the end. Crovis walked over to Trovis and shook him until he woke up.
“Come on Trovis we have to go.”
Trovis was semi-conscious but managed to get to his feet and start following Crovis.
“Where are we Crovis?”
“We fell through the ground Trovis. I don’t know where we’ve come.” Crovis walked slowly towards the glowing red light with Trovis following him closely.
They reached the end of the tunnel and crept to the edge to look inside. They couldn’t describe the enormity of it all. It was as though they’d just stepped into another world.
They walked slowly into the strange land. It was very quiet. They didn’t see anyone. It was like a huge cave.
“What is this place Crovis?” Trovis held onto his brother’s arm.
“I’m not sure Trovis but we’re going to find out.” Crovis pulled him along as he began walking through the giant cave and through another entrance. Once they reached the end of the next tunnel there was a door. They were almost afraid to open it fearful of what was waiting on the other side for them.
Crovis walked up slowly and turned the knob. He opened the door and he and Trovis just stared for a long time. It was a world underneath their world. There were myrmidons running everywhere. They saw all kinds of creatures, gremlins, goblins, trolls every creature you could imagine.
“What’s going on here?” Crovis asked himself.
They walked further in and were stopped immediately.
“Come with me please.” The creature was smaller than the brothers and quite hideous.
“Where are we?” Crovis asked.
“You’re in the Netherworld now. Things are much differen’t down here. There is no magic. We all live peacefully here. Follow me please.” The creature began walking.
“Wait a moment please. What if we don’t want to stay here?” Crovis asked.
“You were brought here for a reason there is no going back now.” The creature smiled at them.
Crovis and Trovis were horrified. They had never heard of the Netherworld but they knew that if there was a way in, there would be a way out.
They followed the creature to a large structure. This land was strange. It was very colorful it almost looked unreal.
“Wait here please.” The creature walked away and into the structure. Crovis and Trovis stood there for awhile until the creature reappeared.
“He will see you now.”
“Who will see us now creature?” Crovis asked.
“The ruler of the Netherworld, he welcomes everyone who ends up here.”
They followed the creature into a room and were shocked to see the ruler of the Netherworld. He was a grotesque beast. He was blue in color and had large bumps all over his body. He waved them forward.
“Welcome to the Netherworld friends.”
“We are not your friends beast. We were brought here against our will and we want to be sent back to the Forest of Shadows as soon as possible.” Crovis said angrily.
“I’m sorry, I cannot do that. You must stay here in the Netherworld.” The creature moved closer to them. “There is no way out of the Netherworld.” He smiled.
“If there’s a way in, there’s a way out creature and trust me we’ll find it.” Crovis turned his back to the creature now and began walking out with Trovis behind him.
“Wait please.” The creature followed them. “I will make you a deal warlocks.”
Crovis and Trovis turned around slowly.
“What kind of deal creature?” Crovis asked.
“If you stay long enough to teach me what you know, I will let you go.” The creature smiled.
“I thought you said there was no way out of here creature. How do we know we can trust you? You’ve already lied to us.” Crovis balked.
“I give you my word warlocks.” The creature smiled at them through his crusty face.
“Agreed.” Crovis and Trovis turned and walked out of the creature’s lair.
Above ground in the Midnight Mountains Sindor lead the Shaman, Micael and Ovit to the only lake left. They reached it within an hour and the Shaman lit a fire.
Shaman and Sindor began looking on one side and Micael and Ovit on the other.
Sindor spoke with the Shaman as they worked.
“I would like to go with you and your friends when you’re done here Shaman.” Sindor smiled at him.
“You are more than welcome to join us Sindor.” The Shaman patted him on his back.
Sindor was very happy. “Thank you.”
Micael and Ovit continued to look steadily. Micael was feeling quite tired again and needed to rest. Ovit was full of energy. Micael walked over to him and sat down.
“I can’t explain it Ovit, I’m just so tired.”
“You are myrmidon Micael. Y
ou don’t have the same ability to stay awake like we do. I have gone weeks without sleep.” Ovit smiled. “Go rest. I will wake you if I find anything Micael.”
“Thank you Ovit.” Micael walked away and dropped to the ground. He closed his eyes and began to sleep.
Sindor, the Shaman, and Ovit worked for hours and found nothing.
Grimelda and Magella wandered into their altar room and discovered that the bottle containing Helmog was missing as was the spell to free him.
“We’ve been duped sister.” Grimelda scowled.
“Should we go to the ghoul’s castle and turn them all into ash?” Magella asked.
“No sister, we’ll bide our time now. We have to plan now. Let’s go to the crystal ball and find the brothers in the Forest of Shadows.”
Grimelda and Magella began chanting over the crystal ball. They stood there for almost an hour and realized that something was terribly wrong.
“Where are they sister? It’s as if they’ve vanished.” Grimelda couldn’t understand it.
“Is there some kind of spell they may have cast on themselves so that we couldn’t find them?” Magella asked.
“No. They couldn’t hide from us. They’ve never been able to hide from us. We must go to the Forest of Shadows.” Grimelda began walking out of the altar room.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea sister?” Magella followed her out of the room.
“Something strange has happened Magella. We have to find out what it is.” Grimelda walked quickly to the front door of the castle.
Magella followed her out the door and into the darkness.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Crovis and Trovis were given a room in the ruler’s structure. They knew they’d have to help him or they would never be allowed to go back to the Midnight Mountains.
“Can you believe that awful creature holding us here against our will Trovis?” Crovis seemed agitated.
“I’m sure there’s a way out of here Crovis we just need to find someone to show us.” Trovis said lazily.
“I’m sure we’re not the first that have been brought here against their will. We will begin searching in a short while for someone to help us escape. In the meantime, we’ll tell the creature nothing but lies to feed his small mind. He may be large but he seems to have no brain at all.” Crovis laughed.