I really did not need this burden. Another immense problem like one, was not enough, the captain grouched in his mind.
“Can’t you get it out somehow?” Tusk asked.
“There is no method for this I know of,” DaMatta replied.
“I have been running away from monks for years. Is it possible that they are the servants of the goddess inside me?” Everly asked, blinking tensely.
“Absolutely, little lady. This proves that the servants of the Mistress are in action. Although I don’t exactly know why now,” the armored man was thinking.
“I think I know. There will be a great magical alignment happening soon, also involving the strange light appearing on the sky earlier. This is an exceptional opportunity for the goddess, to manifest in our world,” the rour replied.
“What can we do to avert the birth of the goddess?” Corwen turned to their new mate.
“They will probably try to free the goddess from the girl’s body, through a ceremony that would end with her death. We have to stop this from happening. If the magical alignment is over and the ceremony is not performed, the goddess will stay in Everly forever, but will be too weak and will not be a danger anymore,” DaMatta explained.
“How lucky they cannot find me in this wilderness, so far from everything,” the thief girl said nervously.
“We will protect you. If the light on the sky disappears, you will have nothing to worry about,” the captain consoled her.
“What would happen if the goddess in me awakened?” Everly asked cautiously,
“She would search for worshippers, as much as she could and gain power by this. She would eventually become unstoppable. There would be no army or force that could resist her will,” DaMatta informed her.
This is a historical moment. Is this why Dermeron led me in the way of this company, to find the mortal remains of Kyrion? If it is, I have to do everything to avert the rebirth of the goddess, I cannot fail, the servant of the god of battle and bravery, made the decision.
“Let’s focus on the mission ahead of us. We have to cross the river to reach the moorland as soon as possible!” Corwen suggested to the others.
“I saw an old wooden bridge crossing the river not so far from here,” the priest/knight said.
“Show us the way to the bridge then, my friend!” the captain waved a hand, letting the armored man on his horse to go on the front.
They turned to the North with the horses, following the winding river and a few hours later, the old and shaky wooden bridge was in their sight. The structure standing on decaying piles did not seem very safe. The captain got off Smokey and walked up on the bridge, to see if the old structure could endure them. As he stepped on the boarded bridge, something unexpected happened. Out of nothing, a strange creature appeared in front of him, with a cloud of thick smoke. Its skin was dark brown and it had large pointy ears. It had a strange sign on its forehead. He looked at the captain with tiny, foxy eyes. It was wearing a loose turquoise blue robe.
“Greetings strangers. I am Eroldin! If you wish to cross this bridge, you will have to pay duty,” he said in a high voice.
The sight of the creature appearing out of nothing, shocked the team.
I sense powerful magic from him. This creature has immense power, he is familiar, but I don’t know why, Al Sarran was wondering.
“Why would we pay duty to you?” the warrior in the segmented armor asked in a calm voice.
“If you don’t pay me gold or gemstones, you cannot cross the bridge!” the tiny creature answered with a face like stone.
“How could you possibly stop us from crossing?” the captain asked.
“Like this!” the creature laughed, smacked his fingers and made the bridge disappear like it never had been there.
The captain previously standing there fell in the water and got on his feet, swearing.
What a goddamn creature is this again! Don’t we have enough problems already? Corwen was raging in mind.
The team was astonished, nobody expected this, the strange creature really took them by surprise.
“This is just an illusion right?” the captain asked angrily, turning to the sorcerer.
The panther man was concentrating, drawing things in the air and a few moments later, he turned to Corwen frowning.
“I do not sense any illusion or invisibility. It simply disappeared,” the panther man replied.
“Bring back the bridge, don’t make me ask twice!” the captain grunted at the small creature, who was floating in the air.
“Choose your words wisely man, or you could disappear too and you will find yourself at a place, where there is no way back from! You will be the only person in a desert!” he replied, with a slightly louder voice.
“Captain, I think he speaks the truth. Don’t make him angry! This creature has a great magical power. If I guess correctly, this is a genie from another world,” the sorcerer warned the captain.
“Fine, you win. What is the price of crossing the bridge, you bastard?” Corwen turned to the little genie, opening his arms.
“Five gold for each, or a smaller gemstone,” he replied with a shady look, smiling secretively.
Having no better idea, everybody got the requested gold out of their pouches and they handed it to the strange creature. He counted it carefully and put the coins away. He smacked his fingers and the bridge reappeared out of nothing.
“You can cross now. Have a nice trip!” he said and disappeared, leaving a cloud of thick smoke behind.
“I hope we will have an easier journey from now on without any unexpected turn of events.” The captain was in a fret while crossing the bridge.
They led their horses through the old and shaky bridge. A few planks were missing from its floor or from the banister, but the decaying structure could easily endure their weight. They felt relieved that the strange little creature did not deceive them, when they got to the other side.
“Al Sarran, was he really so dangerous it would not have been worth fighting him?” the captain asked.
“I have never met a genie before either, but I read about them and they all have immense magical power. We don’t know anything about their origins. They do not live in this world. I believe whoever can teleport a bridge in a second is a dangerous opponent. He definitely has greater power than me,” he shared his honest thoughts.
“You should not always believe your eyes, captain. There are many creatures in this world that seem innocent and vulnerable and they turn out to be more dangerous, than a beast with sharp claws and teeth,” the dainty elf said.
“As my wise master said, never judge your opponent by appearance,” the priest/knight shared his wisdom.
“You convinced me. I have to agree with you. I will be more careful the next time, before I infuriate another creature that is much stronger than us.”
Corwen got on the back of Smokey. He got out the copy of the map and examined it carefully.
“If I understand it well, we need to head towards the Southeast. This is where the ruin town and the grave is,” the captain pointed forward.
“What are we waiting for then? Let’s go!” the orc spurred his horse and headed in that direction and the others all followed his example.
The thick tropical forest was soon exchanged by a swampy, watery area. There were less trees, which were much smaller and the land was covered with puddles and lakes everywhere. The mild wind was carrying thick gray clouds around the sky. It rained every day. This was the paradise of seaweed, swamp reptiles, amphibians and waterfowls. The land was loud of frogs croaking and birds screaming. They had to move carefully, as the horses could unexpectedly sink in the water till their breasts, but sometimes they had a proper firm road ahead of them.
A few hours later, they stopped to have a rest and eat a little. There was a light, but consistent rain, slowly soaking the small team. Tusk suddenly stood up and pointed at the open water on the side.
“There is wine barrel under water, I
go get it!” he murmured a bit confusedly.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Corwen asked, staring at the water surface.
“Suddenly he also noticed a sparkling weapon-like object in the direction the orc was heading. His common sense told him to stay still, but he walked into the water anyway. Lowarien was following them with mesmerized eyes, walking into the slowly deepening water. The others were shouting, but they did not react. They moved forward, enthralled until they slowly sank in the water. As they got to the deep part, the mesmerizing objects disappeared and they sank under the water, paralyzed and drowning helplessly.
DaMatta, Al Sarran, Everly and Larianna quickly jumped into the water to pull the helpless men out of the water. The laid them down on the shore. They coughed up the water, but they were all alive.
“This is extremely curious. Something got over them. I have to find out what mesmerized them!” the panther man was gasping, soaking wet.
His paw-like hands clenched the unicorn horned staff and he was focusing really hard.
“I sense an old and angry wandering soul, who is furious, it mesmerized our friends. We have to find its corpse and destroy it!” he revealed the identity of the creature behind this curious attack.
“I can take care of it, I am an excellent swimmer” Everly said quickly.
She got off her cloak and jumped into the water, came back to the surface a few times and she finally succeeded with the mission. She found the remains of the soul drown in the water hundreds of years ago. She collected the remaining bones and took them out to the lakeshore.
“This is all I found!” she was gasping exhaustedly.
“Fine. Stand back. It is my turn now!” the rour commanded the thief girl.
He stretched his arm and a wide flame shot out of his palm, covering the bones in fire. Al Sarran burnt them until they became ash. They others suddenly came to their senses after this mirage.
Larianna was caressing Corwen’s face, who slowly regained consciousness. He sat up, coughing.
“Something got into my head, I could not do anything,” he explained, confused.
“We know my champion,” the witch replied anxiously,
“We were afraid you would drown in the swamp, so we rescued you all. It was a soul drown in the water who took over control, but we managed to destroy its remains, making it disappear forever.”
Is she really that attracted to me? I have to reward her for not letting me die, the captain thought. He grabbed the witch’s waist, pulled her closer and kissed her.
“Thank you for saving me and worrying for me! For you to as well my friends.” he looked around gratefully.
Larianna’s eyes were sparkling of happiness. The first man in my life, who knows what he wants, he is an excellent fighter and an even better lover. I am starting to fall in love with him, I will not just let him to leave me, the honest thoughts ran through her mind.
“I wouldn’t have let you to drown just like that. You cannot get rid of me this easily,” she said joyfully.
Tusk and Lowarien were feeling much better too. The orc was scratching his head, grunting.
“For the drums of Growalda, why did dead soul have no effect on you?”
“Because our minds are protected by a magical shield, although I do not know if Everly has one,” the priest/knight replied.
The panther man was nodding approvingly.
“I sense relatively strong shields at Everly. How did you acquire them?” he asked the young girl.
“I once helped a fire sorcerer during my journeys to break into a place and he built me these shields in return. He said it would protect my mind from anyone trying to enter it.”
“You are full of surprises, Everly!” the sorcerer said.
“To avoid danger like this, I will build a powerful magical protection for all of you against attacks like this,” the panther man promised the others.
“This is a more dangerous land than I thought. Although, I have been to a lot of places in the continent in the past centuries. We have to be more prepared if we want to succeed in our mission.” The elf was tapping out water from his clothes.
“I am happy we all survived this adventure. We really need to function as a team, which is essential to complete the mission. Let’s rest for while and move forward after. Al Sarran, we trust you with the protection of our minds. Please, build those shields!” Corwen sighed.
They all tried to regain power. There was still a long journey ahead of them in the moorland. They were still soaked by the rain, its tiny drops entered every creek, but this was the least they had to worry about.
*****
Vardo pulled out his magical blade from the crocodile’s back and the lifeless body did not move anymore. The other two were killed by his companions. The animals thought the men jumping into the water were easy targets. They were wrong, as they came across the elite assassins of the Nozgold Empire, who had no problems defeating much stronger opponents either. They were carefully selected to become members of the elite clan, where they were trained for long years so they could finally become perfect killing machines. They were always assigned the most dangerous missions. If they did not succeed, they had to commit suicide after arriving home, as they could not tolerate errors and weakness.
“Did you clear the area?” the black magician asked.
“This was the last predator sir!” the shadow elf replied, ceremonially wiping the blood off his blade and putting it back into the case.
“Your creature slows us down, Why did we have to bring it with us?” the ash gray skinned warrior asked puzzled.
“My servant might be slow, but it is the most resistant and loyal guard I can wish for,” he pointed at the giant creature sank in the swamp to its waist, following the magician in the back with careful, slow steps.
“We have to find a place where we can put up the tents. Send some trackers forward, it will get dark soon,” the obsidian eyed magician gave the command.
Following the command of Vardo, the armed men went forward in different directions. Encouraging their horses, they soon disappeared in the distance.
“I will contact our master, the omnipotent Vulgron. Make sure nobody disturbs me!” he told the valor.
I hope I won’t disturb the great lord. Otherwise I will be in trouble. A man can have great power, but never can reach the demigods. So I hope I will find him in a good mood, thought the mage.
He cleared his throat and swallowed nervously. He was focusing hard to find the mind he wanted to communicate telepathically with and he soon succeeded.
“Master Vulgron! I am Raduem Morquol, magister of the Black Tower, leader of the force searching for the relics,” he started talking cautiously.
“I am listening, magister,” the voice, usually making intense commands replied in his mind.
“We will soon reach the ruin town, where the cemetery lies with the grave of the hero hiding the key to the relics. The weapons even demon lords fear.”
“I really hope the legends are true and you will not return empty-handed, magister. Our armies are prepared and are assembling at our borders, waiting for my command. The wild nomads are ready too, to burn down the North with the help of the demons. If the demon lords cross the dimension gates with the help of the shamans, chaos may rule the world. We will not be able to control without the weapons,” the voice replied.
“I will find the relics for the empire, I swore to that my lord. The legends say that Orender Teroldo killed three of the demon lords with them, during the demon wars. Even if one is true, it still could have an incredible power,” the magister explained to the demigod.
“You get a week to acquire the legendary weapons, if I do not hear from you until that, I will start the attack against Birwulf and the Eastern Barbarians, with our without the relics!” the demigod replied and terminated the telepathic connection.
Morquol took a deep breath and blew out the air from his lungs. He turned to the shadow elf, a bit relieved.
“When the trackers are back we will camp down, strengthen up and quickly continue our journey. Our lord will began an attack against the North in a week,” he stroked his graying goat beard.
“I hope the wild nomads are as good fighters as they are said to be. Our living dead legion and troops will not be strong enough to conquer the whole North without help,” the valor replied.
“The threat of the nomads does not lie in their warrior skills, but in their tight relationship with the demons. A few dozen demons can defeat a smaller army. Imagine what a hundred or a thousand can do. The shamans can easily summon them, not to mention the dreadful demon lords, who the wilds admire like gods. Even if one of them enters our world, it can change everything in the whole war. That’s why we have to find those weapons, to control these ancient powers,” Morquol explained.
“We will get them, magister, there is nothing that would stop us in this stinking swamp,” the ash gray skinned warrior said confidently.
He looked into the distance with eyes burning of relentlessness.
*****
Above the high mountains, a winged creature flew with great speed among the clouds, sliding quietly, riding on the warm updrafts towards the South. She could feel the presence of the chosen one and there was nothing in the world that could stop her from completing her mission. It had been a long time since she visited this world. She liked the colorful diversity of this world. Her home, the dimension of pain was rather gray and dull.
Run little girl. You cannot escape from Zandurin, whatever trick or magic you may use! The goddess will come to life again and I will use all my power to make this happen. Anyone standing up against her will be cruelly destroyed by me! The representative of the goddess of pain and distress thought to herself.
It has been a thousand years ago that the goddess ruled the world and her power was complete. Thousands over the continent followed her will. Human sacrifices were made for her regularly. She preferred young men. This age can come again if she succeeds and brings back the girl to the monastery, where the high priestess can perform the ceremony. As long as the light of the comet can be seen in the sky, she can succeed, which means she has about a week left. She slowly left the high mountains behind. In the distance, she could see tropical trees reaching to the sky, absorbing the nourishing light of the setting sun. The land was slashed by endless rivers. Her emotionless, rigid face almost burst into a smile-like expression.
Legend of Fire and Ice Page 9