by Eric Vall
“He’s going to be okay, isn’t he?” I heard Nia ask, but I didn’t hear Arwyn respond.
Instead, I felt the pressure and urgency to vomit ease, though I still felt weak. Had it not been for my girlfriends, I would have planted face first into the pile I’d just spewed. They sat me back, and Arwyn cradled me against her side.
“How long have I been--”
“About ten minutes,” Arwyn interrupted. “Save your strength, Gryff.”
“Okay,” I said.
Above us, the sky was blue, the sun was bright, and there was a slight breeze that swept through the village. More than that, everything around us looked whole, and the sounds of life abounded around us.
We’d made it, and more so, our hope had been proved right. It was hard, but I knew we could do it.
“Gryff!” I looked up to see Maelor and Cyra run toward me. They looked pretty beat up. Their clothes were torn in places and they were more than a bit bloody, but they looked otherwise safe. Thank the Maker.
Maelor sank to his knees in front of me and gripped my shoulders tightly. I welcomed the affection and sagged into him, finally able to relax a little.
“You had us worried!” Cyra gasped as she wrapped her arms around my shoulder and showered my face with kisses.
“I’m just glad that you’re safe,” I rasped. “When we got here, Maelor said you were in the mines.”
Cyra grinned. “You bet I was. There’s a whole trove of crystals down there with a jackpot of monsters.”
“Yeah?” I croaked, and I tried to laugh a little. “Anything good?”
She winked, then pulled out a giant crystal from her leather satchel. She let it smash to the ground and out popped a small silver dragon with bright pink wings.
My eyes shot wide open, and I winced as I leaned to get a closer look. “Holy shit, Cyra!” Dragons were a rare find, even I knew that. I heard Arwyn and Nia gasp as well.
“Cool, right?” She smiled brightly. “She really came in handy when that horde of bandersnatches came through.”
“But she’s so small,” Nia commented, and the little dragon huffed a puff of smoke at her.
“She gets bigger,” Maelor boomed.
“Aye,” Cyra lilted with a smirk. “Named her Kalon.”
I nodded and held my hand out. Kalon flapped her little wings to me sniffed my fingers before she curled up and closed her eyes. I laughed a little. I could relate to the sleepiness.
“It suits her, I think,” I smiled and ran my fingertip down her spine before I handed her back to Cyra.
Behind her, I noticed Ashla and the other Wild Reds standing watch. They seemed to be exhausted, and covered with injuries, but they waved all the same. Looked like it wasn't just our squad that had come to the Bathi Highlands' aid.
I lifted my arm to wave back, but it was pretty heavy and weak thanks to having absorbed all of that essence, so I nodded tiredly. They smiled in return, and we appreciated the quiet sentiments.
I heard the joyous cries of families reuniting and thankful prayers to the Maker around us. As I looked around, I recognized the village square, only it was intact, and there were kids that had already started playing chase in a circle around the fountain.
“We saved the village,” I trailed off with a smile. My eyes were droopy, and sleep threatened to take over me, but I fought it off as best I could. I wanted to rejoice with everyone.
“You did good, my boy.” Maelor ruffled my hair and gave a hearty laugh.
“Indeed, you did.” Sleet’s voice came from the small crowd that had gathered, and they parted to reveal the old man as he walked alongside Orenn. Varleth was draped over him in a piggyback fashion. “That was quite an impressive demonstration from what I am told, Mister Gryff.”
“Thank you, sir,” I replied with a soft laugh. Next to me, Arwyn and Nia smiled. “I couldn’t have done it without the help of my friends, though.”
“Ever the humble one, Mister Gryff.” Sleet chuckled and stopped in front of us.
Orenn shifted Varleth’s weight and cleared his throat as he stopped next to him. “Sir, the book?”
Sleet was silent for a moment, and then he straightened. “Oh yes! Quite right you are, Mister Vascarti.”
Sleet brandished a book that had been tucked into his robes behind his back. The cover was blood red, and there was a black cross embossed on the cover with gold leaf trim along the pages. Below and above the cross were what looked to be runes, but they weren’t. Something was different about them.
I gasped. They were the same symbols that had appeared in the rift before we climbed in.
“What is it?” I asked, suddenly very curious.
“It’s a book, farm boy,” Nia teased, and I stuck my tongue out at her.
“No kidding, smartass. I meant what is its significance?”
Sleet held up his hands, and we halted our bickering.
“Varleth stumbled across it in an old library before we found the catalyst,” Orenn explained. “Said it gave off a familiar energy, but couldn’t place what it was.”
I nodded. “So what’s in it?”
“Much of the same symbols that are on the cover, but we haven’t anyone who can decipher it here,” Sleet carried on.
“But there is someone?” I pressed, and Orenn shook his head.
“Before Varleth passed out he mentioned something about a stone tablet.”
No way. I shot upright, though I winced as I did so, and looked straight at Sleet. Of course! The tablet had those strange markings on it, and neither of us could make out anything it said. That had to be a part of the puzzle right?
“Sir, do you think he meant the tablet we retrieved for you?”
Sleet seemed to consider this for a long moment and stroked his silver beard with long fingers covered in numerous rings. I don’t know why I had never noticed them before, or if I did, it didn’t jump out at me as something worth taking note of, but they were there, and they glittered in the sunlight over Bathi Highlands.
“You could be onto something, Gryff,” he replied finally with a whimsical tone. “For now, though, do keep this information to yourselves.”
He looked around at the villagers that had gathered nearby, but none of them seemed to pay any mind to our conversation. Instead, it looked like they had waited patiently for their turn to talk to us and thank us, as evident by their gracious smiles when I glanced at them.
“Now,” he continued, “let us get you all back to Varle and have you looked at. You spent quite a long time in the Shadowscape, after all.”
“Exactly how long were we gone?” I questioned, and I looked between him and Maelor.
“Six days,” Maelor answered slowly. “Much longer and they were gonna send a second squad in after you.”
“Jeez,” I groaned and slumped back against Maelor, who laughed and wrapped one of his thick arms under mine and hoisted me up alongside him. “At least I missed the exams, right?”
“Yeah, you’re not getting off that easy,” Arwyn smirked, and I pouted in return. “Just because you save a village it doesn’t exempt you from the formality of a proper educational test.”
“You’re a slavedriver,” I teased, and Arwyn lightly patted my cheek.
“You’ll get over it, Mr. Gryff,” she winked, and Nia smirked at my expense as I could do nothing but sigh dramatically.
“You’ll find that your ship is no long suspended in midair, Ms. Hamner,” Sleet informed her.
“I’m only glad my call for backup was able to reach you,” Arwyn replied as she bowed her head graciously.
“Ah, yes. It was good of you to pick the mimic to pilot your ship this time,” Sleet complimented. “Going into a situation as unpredictable as this one Lindblum proved to be rather useful.”
“I agree,” Arwyn nodded as we continued to walk to the outskirts of the village. I had wanted to stay a while, and maybe check out the crystal mines with Cyra after I felt better, but it seemed it would have to wait for another
time.
“Lindblum?” I asked, and Nia rolled her eyes.
“Don’t you ever pay attention to the flight logs?”
“No.” I scrunched my nose. “Should I?”
Orenn laughed. “It says on the flight log whom the pilot is for each mission. It’s a way to hold them accountable if something goes horribly wrong, but also to have a mage that will mesh well with the needs of the squad and the mission.”
I faltered. “So…?”
“Erin, Gryff,” Nia sighed. “Erin Lindblum, our pilot, the mimic.”
“Oh!” I perked up, then immediately turned sheepish.
“I don’t know how you forgot about her,” Orenn snorted, and if I had the energy, I would have kicked him in the ankle. I’d aim higher, but he’s a tall guy.
As we got closer to the airship I saw that Erin was quite okay, and she jumped and waved to us as we approached.
“Good to see ya, again, Gryff.” She smiled, and I managed one back as I leaned heavily into Maelor’s side.
“You, too,” I said awkwardly. Last I saw her, she had her tongue down my throat. Again, not that I’m one to complain, but it was such a bizarre experience, and I kind of wanted to try it again.
“Let’s go you and Varleth on board, okay?” She looked between the two of us sympathetically and then looked to Arwyn. “There are some beds in the back. They aren’t much, but they can at least lie down properly.”
“Thank you, Erin.” Arwyn placed a hand on her shoulder.
As everyone moved onto the ship, my legs tired and my knees buckled. I had tried to grip onto Maelor, but my fingers were too weak and had started to turn black. Damn it.
“Easy there, son,” Maelor caught me and hoisted me into his arms. He carried me like a princess all the way to the back of the ship and up a short flight of purple marble stairs, much to my complete and utter embarrassment, and laid me down on one of the beds closest to the window. On the next bed, Orenn deposited Varleth as gently as he could, and Nia helped take off his boots and cloak.
Arwyn took a seat on the foot of my bed and put her hands on my cheeks. I was thankful for the gesture, as it did bring me some comfort, but I couldn’t help but worry a little about this condition.
“We’re going to be okay, right?” I asked. “Varleth and I are going to make it?”
“Oh, you’ll both be fine, Gryff,” she assured with a slight giggle in her voice. “It’s true that we don’t know much about the essence and its everyday uses, but there is a potion that will heal you both from absorbing too much of it.”
“There is such of thing?” I knitted my brows.
“Of course there is.” Nia smiled at me from Varleth’s bed. “Banishers all have the same ability to destroy catalyst stones, and thus all have the ability to use the essence. So yes, a potion like that already exists for that very reason.”
“Interesting.” I smirked, and I felt the final bit of strength I had left leave my body and concede to sleep. It would be easy to rest now that I knew that, at least for the time being, things were going to be okay.
My eyes slipped shut, and before I drifted off, I felt Arwyn stand from the bed and call down to Erin.
“Set a course for Varle. It’s time to take the hero home.”
End of book 3
End Notes
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2018 by Eric Vall