“Twyla!” Dugan yelled.
Headmaster Gwauldron had regained his feet, while Wally remained unconscious on the ground. The headmaster strode forward, casting spell after spell at Rance and Kas. Rance grabbed the arch crystal that was still on the ground, and he and Kas retaliated.
Dugan finally got to his feet and sprinted in the direction of the farmhouses. He opened the front door of the house with the broken window. The living room was modestly decorated, and Dugan raced around, crunching the shattered glass under his feet, until he found the arch crystal, where it had slid underneath the couch. He examined the crystal and shook it, trying to figure out how an inanimate object could have made his wife disappear.
“Dugan,” a voice called.
Dugan looked up to see a man dressed in a magenta robe peeking around the corner of the hallway that led to the bedrooms in the back of the farmhouse.
“Wendahl?” Dugan said, taken aback by his clothes.
“Where did you get that?” Wendahl asked.
“It appeared out of nowhere. There were enchanters and lightning and a black claw of some sort and then Twyla disappeared.” Dugan’s voice finally choked as he looked back at the arch.
A blast sounded close to the house and Wendahl’s face filled with concern.
“Turn the lights off and come with me,” Wendahl said, motioning desperately to Dugan.
Dugan turned off the light and rushed down the hallway.
“They’ll come after the arch,” Wendahl said.
“Who are they? What happened to Twyla?”
“They’re enchanters in search of a being called Avooblis. A magical entity of great power that they wish to summon into this world.”
“Why in all the land would they do that? I could feel how evil he was. How could he take Twyla?”
Before Wendahl could respond, there was a crash as the front door of the farm burst open.
“You’ll have to trap them to get away. Use this,” Wendahl said, slipping a blue pellet into Dugan’s hand and taking the arch crystal from him. “Throw it at their feet and it will put them in a magical trap.”
Dugan grabbed the pellet and snuck back down the hallway. Headmaster Gwauldron was ransacking the living area, looking for the arch crystal. He spotted Dugan and fired spells his way, but Dugan threw the pellet to the floor. There was a mild explosion and, when the room cleared, the enchanter was trapped in a column of blue light.
Dugan dashed back down the hallway to the bedroom. Wendahl was nowhere to be found, but the arch crystal was lying on the bed. Dugan picked it up and then returned down the hallway. The enchanter was launching blast-bolt spells against the column, but the trap remained intact. He scowled at Dugan when he entered the room. Dugan went into the kitchen, gathering food supplies from the cupboards and placing them in a knapsack. When he went back into the living room again, the headmaster spoke.
“I will pay you any amount of money for that arch crystal,” he said.
Dugan ignored him and went back down the hallway, this time entering the bedroom across the hall from his own. In a small bed lay a two-year-old boy with black hair. Dugan gently lifted the sleeping child into his arms and carried him to the living room.
“I will trade you for the arch crystal,” the enchanter said, lifting an object in his hand.
Dugan glanced at the gold ring with a red crystal in the band.
“My wife gave me that...” Dugan said, but his voice trailed off and he shook his head.
“I am the headmaster of the Adventurers’ Academy. I can guarantee your child’s entrance if you give me the arch,” the headmaster bargained.
Dugan was about to go back into the kitchen but he paused, looking down at the boy in his arms.
“You promise my son will be admitted?”
“Give me the crystal, and I promise. He will be trained as an adventurer and will live the life of a hero.”
“I will give you the crystal when he comes of age.”
“No, release me from your magic bind and give me the crystal now.”
Dugan shook his head.
Headmaster Gwauldron scowled in thought before speaking. “Fine, I will accept the arch as payment when your son turns fourteen, but I will be hunting you down. If I find you and the arch before then, I will take what’s mine and end our deal.”
“And the ring?” Dugan said.
The headmaster nodded.
“Deal,” Dugan said.
Headmaster Gwauldron continued sending out threatening barbs as Dugan retrieved the travel bag from the kitchen. Dugan slung it over his shoulder, cradling his son in his arms, and headed outside the broken front door. He walked into the crop field, stopping only once to look back at the farmhouse with the dim blue light shining from the broken window and door.
When Dugan turned back around, Wendahl was standing there in his magenta robe.
“You don’t have to leave,” Wendahl said.
“That enchanter ransacked my farmhouse and threatened me. I have to leave or my son will be harmed,” Dugan said.
“You can move in with me.”
“Next door? They’ll find and kill me and Dagdron there easily.”
“I have a hidden house on the beach. We’ll be safe there and we can figure out how to get Twyla out of the arch.”
“You know how to get her out?” Dugan said.
“Not exactly, but I have this.” Wendahl slipped the blue sphere out of his pocket. “I believe this is what attracted the other two arches to Coastdale. I retrieved this orb years ago from the shrine where the arches were created.”
“You really think we can get her out of the arch?” Dugan asked.
“It will be dangerous, but I think so.”
“You mean, to get her out, we’ll also have to let the Avooblis being out as well?”
Wendahl nodded his head. Dugan finally lowered his head, tears welling up in his eyes and streaming down his cheeks.
“What will that mean for the world?” he asked.
“I don’t know exactly, but Avooblis will bring darkness with him.”
“Can you control him? Tell me honestly.”
Wendahl shook his head. “I don’t think any human can.”
“Why do those enchanters believe they can, then?”
“Their ideals blind them. They believe they’re powerful enough to control Avooblis, and that they’ll be able to stifle the darkness throughout the land.”
Dugan took in a labored breath as more tears trickled down his face. He looked down at his son and shook his head.
“Twyla is lost. I can’t unleash that on the world.”
Dugan slowly turned, ready to head off in the darkness.
“Where will you go?” Wendahl said, striding after Dugan.
“I don’t know. Someplace I can hide and raise Dagdron in peace.”
“I know of a place called Cliffmount. I visited there during my explorations. There’s a cave in the cliffs above the village. I have a friend in town there named Jinxy. He has a bauble emporium, but will be able to teach you magic so you can conceal a doorway to the cave. You’ll be safe there.”
Dugan gave a nod of his head, and Wendahl explained the directions to Cliffmount.
“I’m sorry, Dugan,” Wendahl said. “I didn’t know any of this would happen.”
“Twyla loved having you as a neighbor,” Dugan said. “She always tried to match your vegetables because yours were always the best.”
Wendahl gave a weak smile, and Dugan, cradling Dagdron firmly in his arms, turned and headed off into the darkness on the long trek to Cliffmount.
Dagdron was stunned when the arch went blank, realizing that the woman they had been seeing in the right archway the entire year had been his mother. By the time he shook himself from his daze, he saw Headmaster Gwauldron and Wendahl cast fetch spells at the third arch crystal that was still on the altar. The two magical rings latched onto the crystal, and the two enchanters started a tug-of-war.
“You had the means of getting in the shrine all these years?” Headmaster Gwauldron said furiously. The headmaster had always been stern, but the young adventurers had never seen him angry like this. With his increased fury, the headmaster’s fetch spell tugged the arch closer to him.
“Gwidy, those arches should be destroyed.” Wendahl gritted his teeth, adding power to his ring, pulling the arch back toward him.
“They are my arches,” the headmaster replied.
“First finders was our rule. I found the orb, and I was allowed to do whatever I wished with it, including not sharing with you or Rance. That was the same reason Rance couldn’t take the crystals from you honorably. You got to them first while he went for the book.”
The others in the shrine watched as Headmaster Gwauldron and Wendahl continued their fetch tug-of-war, Mazannanan in particular. The two magical rings kept yanking the third arch crystal back and forth, first closer to the headmaster, then back toward Wendahl.
“Blasphemers,” the Wizard of Avooblis said, glaring at Wendahl and the headmaster. “Those are my arches. How dare you speak of destroying them or claiming them as your own?”
The duelers ignored him, continuing to battle. Mazannanan, watching in horror as the arch was jerked this way and that, finally lunged across the altar. His hand went right through the crystal, and he stood in the middle of the fight, untouched.
Wendahl finally deactivated his fetch spell, and the third Arch of Avooblis was flung toward the headmaster. Headmaster Gwauldron, taken by surprise, barely grabbed the arch, securing it carefully in his hands.
“Put my arch back on the altar,” Mazannanan commanded.
“Who are you?” the headmaster asked.
“You shall never know my name.” Mazannanan glowered at the headmaster.
Headmaster Gwauldron reached out and slammed the tome on the altar. Mazannanan shrieked as he was sucked toward the left archway.
“Young rogue, find my treasure!” he yelled just before he disappeared.
“Gwydion, don’t use the arches. Don’t search for the incantation. Avooblis is too dangerous,” Wendahl said.
“You are not talking to Rance,” Headmaster Gwauldron said. “I am powerful enough to control him. I can put an end to all the evil in the land.”
“You’re blinded by your principles,” Wendahl said.
“Get out of my academy,” the headmaster said. “You too.” He turned to Dugan, glaring at him. “I can’t believe I thought you had magical abilities. You are nothing but lucky that Wendahl was fool enough to help you. It took me hours to break out of that magical bind. I should’ve known Wendahl was behind it, but he used blue light for once. Both of you have set me back years, and are no longer permitted in the vicinity of my academy.”
Headmaster Gwauldron lifted the arch crystal with both hands, and a forceful wind blew Wendahl and Dugan toward the stairwell, up the stairs, and out the door.
“Never come back down here,” the headmaster said, turning to the four young adventurers.
Earl helped the girls gather the bedding that was still on the floor, and then they and Dagdron hurried up the stairs and out of the Shrine of Avooblis.
Chapter 27: Dagdron’s Dad’s Wife
Dagdron went to class the next couple of weeks, but spent all remaining time in his tree, ignoring any interaction with Earl, Elloriana, and Lita. Earl made an effort at night to prod Dagdron into discussing his feelings about what had happened to his mother, but Dagdron remained completely mute at all times.
Rogue classes were enjoyable for Dagdron. The silent teacher was now arming each student with at least ten daggers and positioning them throughout the classroom, conducting them in an all-out dagger throwing brawl. Dagdron relished the challenge of using his dodging skills, especially since the teacher threw a high percentage of his daggers in his direction.
The first weekend in May, Dagdron finally snuck out of the academy early in the morning and headed up the mountainside. He found his dad and Wendahl in the cave, breakfasting on sausages. Wendahl grabbed one last piece of meat and left the cave as soon as Dagdron sat down by the fire.
“You told me your wife died,” Dagdron said.
“Your mother is dead,” Dugan said.
“She’s trapped. We saw her in the right archway in the shrine.”
“She’s gone, Dagdron,” Dugan said. “You heard what Wendahl said. We can’t release her without bringing Avooblis out with her. We can’t unleash that on the world. Me and Jinxy have searched for the past thirteen years for any information about how to control Avooblis. If Wendahl doesn’t know, what other option do we have?”
“There’s a difference between controlling your emotions and burying them. You’ve been hiding from yours all these years, when you could’ve had a normal life.”
“I was not hiding. I was protecting you so that you could have a normal life.”
“My normal life was being a rogue. You ruined that by making me come to the academy.”
Dugan looked toward the fire.
“I thought you were good at magic.” Dagdron, looking at the crackling fire, recalled the many times during his childhood when he had been fascinated by his father’s spells.
Dugan shook his head. “As you saw, Wendahl helped me trap your headmaster, and the other tricks I learned from Jinxy over the years. Just enough to light our fires, hide our cave, and protect us in case of emergencies.”
Dagdron and Dugan sat in silence, looking at the fire.
“Did you learn anything else about Byron and Broodavia?” Dugan asked.
“They’re planning a new city at Central Crossing.”
“Really?”
“That’s what Byron said. Supposedly they have some powerful supporter.”
Dugan looked disturbed, but the father and son fell silent again. After a short while, Dagdron stood and walked toward the cave exit.
“I’m sorry you grew up without your mom,” Dugan said.
“I don’t care,” Dagdron said, glancing back. “I wish you hadn’t lived for so long with your wife.”
Dagdron found Wendahl tossing his hoe around near the cave.
“Why did you give me the orb?” Dagdron asked.
“Because I promised your father I would never tell you about your mom,” Wendahl said. “I knew I couldn’t get into the shrine without Gwidy finding out, but I thought you might be able to. I thought gaining reentrance into the shrine might shed some additional light on what had really happened to your mom. I never meant for anyone else to become involved.”
“What do you mean?”
“The arches were transported to Coastdale because I had the orb. I didn’t know that would happen back then. I didn’t know the orb was the third arch. The arches attract one another. That’s why the times the headmaster was summoning it with the other arches, the orb led you to where he was; that time at the shrine door and in the forest.”
“How did you know the orb would open the shrine?”
“I studied the book on the altar for years. Gwydion and Rance thought the third arch had been created and lost. I understood that it had never been formed. I always figured your dad would come ask for my help, but he was concerned about you having a life.”
“Why did the headmaster want me to go to Coastdale?”
“So you would do exactly what you did.” Wendahl continued when a slight expression of confusion hit Dagdron’s face. “He knew your dad wouldn’t help him, but he thought if you went to Coastdale you might uncover information about your mother and want to free her. He thought you might want to know about your mother’s past, and he thought your father was a powerful enchanter and you might have some abilities with the arches.”
Dagdron scowled. “So it was the same reason you wanted me to.”
Wendahl was silent with a quizzical look on his face. “Well, I guess you could put it that way,” he said. “But I never planned on summoning and controlling Avooblis. I simply wanted to know if your mom could be r
escued.”
“Is he going to summon Avooblis now that he has the three arches?”
“I’m sure he’s going to try to,” Wendahl said. When Dagdron kept staring at him, the enchanter continued. “The arch crystals are the main component, but the correct incantation is still required. Rance, Kas, and Wally didn’t get it right. That’s one of the principal arguments between Gwydion and Rance. Rance wanted to test out incantations, Gwydion didn’t. Your headmaster was right about that, at least. You saw what happened to your mom.”
Dagdron thought about that for minute. Mazannanan had muttered the incantation at the wrong time as well, he remembered, and he got sucked into one of the arch crystals, too. Maybe the headmaster wouldn’t be able to use the Arches of Avooblis as easily as Dagdron thought he would be able to.
“Can my dad’s wife be rescued?”
“I believe so.”
“Without summoning Avooblis?”
“No.” Wendahl’s eyes met Dagdron’s.
“Those arches have ruined everyone’s life.”
Wendahl nodded.
“What treasure was Mazannanan talking about?”
“I don’t know yet, but I’ll try to find out.” Dagdron was silent, and Wendahl kept watching him. “Any other questions?”
“Later there will be,” Dagdron said, brandishing his dagger toward Wendahl before heading down the mountainside.
Earl, Elloriana, and Lita were at the quest tree when Dagdron got back. The warrior and lady warrior were vigorously sword fighting, while Elloriana was in deep concentration in one of her spell books, preparing themselves for their upcoming evaluations. Dagdron, not caring about anything school related, climbed up his tree to lounge.
Throughout the rest of May, as their second year neared its end, Earl, Lita, and Elloriana were fretting about their classes. Earl and Lita were put through extensive skill evaluations of sword fighting, parrying, and other warrior activities. Elloriana and the other magic users were tested to gauge their spell casting ability and magical stamina. Dagdron, unconcerned, enjoyed the final activities the speechless teacher put the rogues through. All light was extinguished in the second-year basement corridor, and each rogue had to take a turn each day, sneaking through a maze. It led down the hallway and curved in and out of each of the rooms. The rogues had to creep along, all while climbing, jumping, or slipping past dangerous obstacles and dodging the daggers thrown at them by fellow rogues, and, of course, awaiting the appearance of the noiseless teacher, who ambushed them with his many daggers.
The Shrine of Avooblis Page 26