Realm of Druids

by Mark Hogenelst

  Raw black shadow flowed over them like a rippling carpet from her staff and continued to engulf them. Saniel could still see around him, though the view was like looking through a heavy mist. Jericho and Red Whiskers stared in dismay at the sprawling numbers of warriors, they doubted Aledran could withstand against this multitude. They came to the banks of the Glistening River and followed it upstream for an hour. The rushing bubbling noise of fast-flowing water was a welcome sound to drown out the hubbub of the witch camp. A body or two floated past, signs of an earlier battle further upstream. A swarm of patrolling nightbirds flew overhead communicating with noisy clicking and the purple coloured lighting that they had sighted earlier continued striking within the dry black clouds to cast an eerie light all around them.

  Witches' passed overhead, and Jericho saw them land on the other bank of the river near some hide tents. These tents appeared guarded by some fearful looking grey creatures he had never seen before. They passed two snoring swamp trolls surrounded by the remains of some eaten swine and then came to an area where the hounds were so thick in groups, that it was difficult to get past them. Here they picked their way through a mass of shaggy black and tan coloured Shepherds. Most of them slept numbering in the hundreds, and the group slowed down as they had to carefully weave their way through the gaps. Several raised their heads and sniffed cautiously as the group crept past, but upon not seeing anything put their heads down and resumed sleep. In the near distance, sporadic orange glows spread throughout the blackness. The continuing series of purple flashes from above brought the occasional brief pale light.

  The group stopped in fright as some gigantic black figures loomed in front of them. The strong smell of burnt ash came to them, and they realised they had reached the entrance to the Great Rift where the first line of mighty Oaks once stood. What was left of these magnificent trees were bent over and lifeless with luminous bits and pieces here and there indicating a recent fire. A crimson haze in the sky several miles in front of them indicated the cause. They were deeply saddened to see the state of the once-proud ancient forest but also elated to have passed through the front ranks of the Wildpack horde. Another flash and it appeared that the trees still standing were covered in oddly shaped leaves. They walked through the twisted trunks as a red-yellow glimmer filled the forest from countless small fires and red-hot cinders. They hugged the narrow flat river bank and in shock realised that the upright burnt trees were not covered in leaves, but hundreds of resting Ravens.

  Jericho and Red Whiskers could see that scattered about the ground were severely burnt unrecognizable bodies of the witch army and defending warriors. Jericho was thankful the mancub had poor night vision as he would have rather spared Saniel the horror of viewing this much death. A screeching cry above them and they saw several witches’ hovering above the burnt trees, their silhouettes visible in the pale flashes of lightening and fire remnants of the forest. The witches’ looked about wildly having sensed that something of unknown magic origin had recently been through the camp. ‘Don’t panic and stay together’ whispered Shalia. ‘They cannot see into the shadow.’ A witch above them screeched loudly again. This time a screech was returned from the ground behind them near the first line of Oaks. They turned to see that a short distance behind them were two bright green eyes that pierced the forest shadow like sunlight through a hole in the clouds. The eyes were that of a goblin mage, bewitched to detect the magic trail of Shalia’s shadow veil. Cautiously walking beside and behind him was a score of Shepherd hunters and goblin reavers. ‘This is not good; will they see us?’ Red Whiskers spoke in a soft voice with a hint of panic. ‘Impossible’ replied Shalia. The green beams of light scanned the ground and trees. The rays paused on the wall of the shrouded veil for a split second before resuming their sweeping search.

  Three witches’ landed near the mage and spoke in words the group could not hear. They pushed on with a bit more urgency as the witches’ inspected the ground behind them. Saniel suddenly gasped and slowed down. ‘What is it?’ whispered Taegan. ‘The stone, it burns’ replied Saniel grimacing and holding his chest. A bright white radiance pulsed through the fabric of his shirt and before he could give the matter any thought his left hand plunged into his shirt and took hold of the chain and yanked the Talisman out. As the Moonstone emerged from the garment, it began to illuminate the inside of the veil with an intense snowy white light. ‘No!’ yelled Shalia turning back and holding Saniel's arm. ‘It betrays us!’ It was too late. Saniel had pulled the Talisman from his shirt and released the chain as the Moonstone dropped and bounced in front of his chest. The shroud veil concealing them from view broke into tiny pieces that drifted apart in slow motion and vanished into the surrounding blackness.

  The Ravens alerted the witches’ first as the nearest ones seeing them suddenly appear in the glowing crimson forest below them, screeched loudly. Others took up the call, and soon, a painfully loud chorus of Raven voices filled the night air. The goblin mage yelled and focused his attention on the exposed group, now within a white glimmer cast by the Talisman. Forgetting the danger, they were in for a moment; Shalia stared at the Talisman hanging from the silver chain around the mancub’s neck. As a cleric, she had knowledge of magic items but had not seen or sensed power like this before. The witches’ sensed it too and hung back as they directed the hunters and reavers to attack.

  62.

  THE RETREAT

  As Taegan tried to drag Saniel away, snarling Shepherd hunters bounded towards them from the shadows behind the trees. Shalia dropping to one knee drove her staff into the ground and yelled above the din of the Ravens, ‘Deflectus!’ A shock wave of air rolled out in a circle from the group, throwing the nearest hounds sideways into burnt logs yelping. Large quantities of ash and cinders flew into the air and billowed around the group, causing them to cough loudly. They staggered rearwards away from the next line of advancing hounds that crept cautiously towards them. Saniel had covered his eyes from the pure glow of the Moonstone as Jericho pushed him back. Ravens within the aura of light flew in fright to collide with one another and crash into burnt tree trunks. The Shepherds hesitated and did not cross the edge of the light. Their thick black coats ruffled with a noticeable sheen from the light of the Moonstone. Angry yells came from the witches’ who hung back in the apparent safety of the dark shadows. They ordered the hunters to attack, but the hounds looked at one another uncertainly.

  Two small grey figurines bounced along the ground out of the dark from where the witches’ were concealed. They rolled to a stop near Red Whiskers feet, causing him to jump sideways and giving a warning cry in a shrill voice. Taegan looking down saw them and shouted a warning, as he knew their purpose. ‘Specters’!’ The two grey figurines lying on their sides, vibrated for a time as they spun in slow circles, then became still. They both propped upright and began to glow a pale-yellow colour, enlarging rapidly. They were now yellow glowing skeletal bodies of dead goblins covered in flowing rotting rags. They were wary of the light as they hovered several feet off the ground outside the aura cast by the Talisman. Then without warning, the light from the Moonstone faded and everything was thrust into darkness. The Night Spectres roared at the group with mournful wails that sent chills to the bone and advanced upon them. Taegan stepped forward with the sweep from the dead witch Lavina Crimson in one hand and his staff in the other. The jade jewel of the sweep came to life as the Night Spectres suddenly focused on it.

  Taegan pointed his staff at the closest Spectre and concentrated. A blue flash burst from his staff and struck the Spectre in the middle. It screamed loudly and drifted backwards clawing at the air and quickly faded out of sight into the burnt forest. The remaining Spectre reached out with two fleshless hands and gripped Taegan by his shoulders. His face went immediately white as his strength began to sap from him. Jericho and Red Whiskers pushed Saniel further back as Shalia took the witches’ sweep from Taegan’s cold hand and thrust it through the flowing rags into the Spectre’s rib c
age. It released Taegan and clutched the handle of the sweep with both hands and wailed.

  Shalia held Taegan’s cold hand. He was unconscious but still alive. The Night Spectre had disappeared with the sweep lodged firmly in its chest. The hounds howled all around them as Shalia heard a giggle and chuckle from the witches’. Shalia holding her staff in one hand took up Taegan’s staff in her other. She looked up to see Jeveran the Faceless standing in front of her with Gretchen the Haggard and another witch she did not know. This third witch also had sickly coloured yellow skin, undoubtedly marking her of the Mirror Lake Coven. She was tall and thin with waist-length white hair and a cruel smile. ‘It has been many years she-elf’ said Jeveran. Shalia looked at Jeveran with contempt and replied. ‘Not long enough I’m afraid faceless one.’

  Jeveran turned her head and appeared to look in Saniel’s direction. ‘Why do you travel with the elf? You must come now as the Lady Strala waits.’ Saniel said nothing but stared back at her. Gretchen the Haggard, pointing a long yellow finger with a black fingernail in the boy’s direction spoke. ‘He carries the Talisman the lady spoke of.’ The three witches’ stared at the curio hanging from the silver chain around Saniel’s neck. It was dull and lifeless and looked not in the least bit threatening. Jeveran, the Faceless addressed Saniel again. ‘Is it true they call you witch slayer now? ‘She laughed, her fellow witches’ laughed, the goblins laughed, and the hounds howled. ‘Can you slay me?’ She asked, almost hopefully.

  Ignoring the snarling Jericho, Jeveran took a long stride towards Saniel, her long black hair swinging around her shoulders as the witch mist coiled tightly around her cloak. The third witch Elvira Moonfell, who was Lady Gretchen’s aid from the Mirror Lake coven, advised caution. ‘Careful faceless one, we have heard much about him.’ Jeveran ignoring Elvira lifted her sweep up from the ground to aim its handle at Saniel as she began to mutter a crippling curse. A blue spark ignited within the Moonstone. Gretchen and Elvira then cried in surprise as a sudden upheaval was heard in the river next to them. From the orange glow of the half-burnt forest, Saniel caught a glimpse of the outline of the green one-eyed giant leaping from the water to land onto the bank.

  The ground shook slightly from the impact of his large feet. It looked this way and that with water streaming off its body, then with a roar and the swinging of two mighty fists it set upon the goblin reavers and hounds that ran towards it. Several swords and a spear marked the Golem’s hide but did little to slow it down as it hewed its way through them. Gretchen the Haggard directed the attack against the Golem and with Elvira, mounted their sweeps to rise to the safety of the night sky. Countless Ravens circled around the Golems head who swatted at them like flies. After several mighty bounds, the Golem reached the ascending witches’ and with gnarly hands reached high to grab Elvira Moonfell and draw her down towards him. An orange fireball flew from Gretchen’s sweep to strike the Green Giant in the back of the head. The Golem roared in pain and threw Elvira hard to the ground and placed a flat hairy foot above her. The green glow of her witch mist held the Golem’s foot up for a split second before it continued downwards to crush her yellow body.

  Brawlers and nightbirds came in droves to the hubbub and immediately set upon the Green Giant. Jeveran, the Faceless stared hard at the Moonstone hanging in front of the mancub’s chest. She recognised some of the archaic symbols forming in the stone. The remaining words to her curse lost as she appeared dazed and ignorant to the fighting around her. This Talisman was calling to her, imitating her patron Daemon making promises and duping her. She trusted it and with a crooked smile and dreamy eyes, reached out to take it in her hand. Saniel tried to back away but couldn’t as the foul smell of the witch washed over him, causing him to dry retch. Ignoring the boy, Jeveran took the Moonstonewithin her palm as her fingers closed over, caressingly as she crooned to it. Once she had the Moonstone firmly in her grasp, she awoke from a swoon and realised her fate.

  Jericho crouched to leap at her as the witch lifted her head to scream, but no sound came out. Jeveran’s sweep fell from her grasp to the ground as she was unable to release the Moonstone from her grip. She shook violently as her skin began to decay rapidly. Saniel was terrified and shut his eyes tightly as her robes caught on fire with the blue arcane flame, the defensive white runes of her cloak melting into the fabric. The blue veins in the Moonstone pulsed brightly as the witch was robbed of her essence. She fell to the ground, a withered crumpled thing. Saniel felt invigorated and refreshed as if waking from a long sleep. He felt confused however and guessed it had something to do with the killing of the witch and began to feel sick.

  Gretchen the Haggard, the only survivor of the three, sat high on her sweep yelling at the brawlers and reavers below to kill the giant. She screamed in rage when she saw what had befallen Elvira and Jeveran and she sped away to warn Lady Strala. While all the forces were concentrated on the Golem, Saniel and Shalia managed to drag an unconscious Taegan away from the fray. The Golem wreaked havoc in the brawlers and reavers as they pressed in tighter around him. Red sparks flew in bursts as the attackers were thrown with force into burning logs and trees in all directions.

  Gretchen returned with Strala a short time later and directed the Grey Reapers against the Golem. The green giant went down on one knee, his mighty fists dealing terrible blows to anything in his way. He was now covered in all manner of injuries as swarms of nightbirds covered his head, biting with needle-like teeth and tearing at his one eye. The broken crumpled bodies of hounds and goblins piled up around him as the Grey Reapers streamed into the forest and leapt on him, biting and rendering with their claw-like nails. The sheer mass of numbers brought the Golem to both knees as one of the swamp trolls puffing heavily behind him drove a small tree-sized spear through the Green Giant’s chest. The Golem spun quickly throwing several clinging Grey Reapers off his body and drove two hammer-like fists into the troll, knocking him unconsciousness. He clutched the giant spear protruding from his chest as his great brown eye closed slowly and he weakened then sunk to the ground and died. A deafening victorious roar went up from the swarming horde.

  ‘The Green Giant is dead’ said Jericho in a panic. ‘They will surely come for us now.’ ‘Can we carry Taegan?’ Asked Red Whiskers despairingly. Saniel and Shalia dropped Taegan’s arms as they had dragged him a short way into an area of semi-darkness, to hide. Shalia was worried. ‘I can recite the cipher, but we have exhausted the magic energies from our staffs for the moment.’ Shalia turned to Saniel. ‘What happened to the witch? Did you control the Talisman? How did she die? What was that green creature that attacked the chaos with such ferocity?’ Saniel replied to all of the elf’s questions with the one answer, ‘I still don’t know, it does what it wants.’ Red Whiskers joined in. ‘It appears that whenever the mancub is in danger, the Talisman comes to life. It seems to have a unique distaste for witches’. It kept the Green Giant around to help us...’ He paused then continued, ‘Until now.’ Shalia sighed and then spoke again. ‘After this, Strala will not rest until we are destroyed. We cannot go back. If we could shelter for an hour or two, until Taegan recovers and the magical energies return to my staff, we might escape.’

  The howls and screams of Strala’s warriors filled the air. They advanced into the luminous remains of Aledran forest to look for survivors. Suddenly several flaps of leathery wings broke the sky above them, and a handful of clicking nightbirds descended upon the group. Jericho fought and killed two as Red Whiskers was snapping at another diving bird. One landed at Saniel’s feet, and he saw that it was black with sharp curved hooks at the tips of broad black wings. It was about the size of Red Whiskers and had a head like a hound with pointed triangular ears and rows of sharp white teeth. It skipped sideways on its short legs towards Saniel holding its wings out wide for balance and spoke in a series of clicks and coughs. Saniel could see tiny reflections of fire in its cold narrow black eyes. He backed away as Shalia jumped in front of him, waving her staff threateningly. The nightbird
screeched one word ‘Death!’ More clicks and coughs could be heard along with the sound of many wings in the dark sky above as more nightbirds came. It would not be long now before the hounds arrived.

  63.

  BUHOO OF THE PHANTOM BROOD

  A deep hooting call resounded from the darkness above as two sharp talons descended from the dark and a large owl with brown-mottled plumage landed heavily to pin the struggling nightbird to the ground. A large head looked around and stared at Saniel and Shalia with big yellow intelligent eyes. Saniel was astonished; he had never seen an owl this big with small black horns protruding from its head before. The owl reached down and used its sharp hooked bill to dispatch the clicking nightbird. The sound of battle was evident in the air above them as the owl spoke in a hushed sort of voice. ‘I am Buhoo of the Phantom Brood, Shah Bragus is expecting you.’ Shalia replied ‘Thank you. How did you find us? I thought you would have surely perished in flames?’ Buhoo replied in a raspy voice. ‘The brood flew to the safety of the hills. Now we return to what’s left of our home and try to repel the nightbirds. You must head for Aledran immediately.’ Shalia looked at the unconscious Taegan and spoke. ‘That will not be an easy task, and I fear the hounds will be upon us shortly.’ Another voice spoke ‘I think not.’ Shalia turned and saw her sister Dafina step from a fissure in the shadows. With a joyful greeting, they hugged each other. Dafina spoke excitedly, ‘The brood and I have been looking for you for hours. We have lost half our forces and have pulled back through the Great Rift to Aledran Mountain. This west end of the forest in the Great Rift is lost; Strala has unleashed a Fire Daemon.’ Dafina looked at Saniel for the first time, ‘So this is the mankind cub, we have all been risking our lives for.’ Dafina saw the Talisman hanging from his chest and reached forward to touch it.