The goblins, seeing only one adversary, charged recklessly. The goblin bodies fell quickly as Tanya and Arik began throwing Lanoirian Stars as well. When nine goblin bodies littered the floor of the clearing, the goblins realized that they were facing more than one opponent. Confusion and fear gripped the goblins as they frantically searched for the other humans. Half of the remaining goblins surged forward, and half decided to retreat. The Rangers grabbed their swords.
Alex, Tanya, and Arik converged on the goblins. Prince Midge soared down out of the trees and darted before the goblins’ faces as they approached the Rangers. The close flying creature temporarily distracted the goblins, and the Rangers used that to their advantage, their long swords reaching out to thin the ranks of the attackers. Distant screams drifted eerily through the trees as the unicorns tore into the retreating goblins. In moments, it was all over.
“Get a body count, Tanya,” ordered Alex. “Darok, go with her. Jenneva, pack up the campsite. We are moving out right away. Arik, help me ensure that they are all dead. Retrieve our stars as well. I think we will be needing all that we can get on this trip.”
“That was a dangerous maneuver, Midge,” admonished Arik.
“It was helpful,” shrugged the tiny fairy. “It is not as if my tiny sword would do the goblins any harm, and they were moving too fast for my sleep spell to help. Besides, they could not swing their swords so close to their own faces. What harm could they do to me?”
“How about swallowing you?” suggested Arik. “They did have their mouths wide open.”
Prince Midge’s green body paled noticeably as he pictured getting swallowed by a goblin. “I will come up with a better plan next time,” promised the fairy prince. “I wish you had not mentioned that possibility, though. Fairies have very vivid imaginations. I shall have nightmares tonight for sure.”
“Imagine how the poor goblin would feel,” chuckled Alex as he retrieved some Lanoirian Stars. “I sure wouldn’t want Prince Midge inside me with a sword.”
“Especially if your skin was the only thing between him and his Bringer,” giggled Jenneva.
Prince Midge grinned at the merriment as the unicorns returned to the campsite. Tanya and Darok were right behind them.
“It was a party of twenty,” Tanya reported. “It was a hunting party, but I do not know what game they were after.”
“It may have been game,” shrugged Alex, “or it may have been us that they were after. We will take no chances tonight. We will ride several hours further north and try to camp again.”
* * *
Mandal and Hortice watched as Bin-lu and Wylan sparred. When the match was over, Bin-lu and Wylan rejoined the rest of the gypsies who were driving the herd northward.
“You are both excellent fighters,” commented Mandal. “Do you practice every day?”
“We try to,” nodded Wylan. “Alex says that daily practice is necessary to keep your edge over the enemy. I truly believe it. I was in the army in Southland before I joined the Rangers. My skill level at that time was nothing to brag about, but I did not know any better. I actually thought I was pretty good back then.”
“Well, you are pretty good now,” smiled Hortice. “Maybe tomorrow night you can teach Mandal and me some of your moves.”
“That sounds like fun,” nodded Wylan.
“Do you only practice with staffs?” questioned Mandal. “The staff is not a weapon that I have used much.”
“No,” Wylan shook his head. “We practice everything, swords, archery, and weaponless combat. Bin-lu is the best at weaponless. I learn new things from him each time we practice.”
“You are a quiet one, Bin-lu,” stated Mandal. “Are you feeling alright?”
“Yes,” nodded Bin-lu. “Listening is also a skill to be practiced.”
“I think he misses Tedi and Arik,” smiled Wylan.
“I am glad that we found Tedi and that he is safe,” agreed Bin-lu. “I would not have minded spending some more time with him. I had hoped that he would have come with us instead of staying with the wagons.”
“Not unless Natia came too,” laughed Mandal.
“I noticed there was something going on between them,” declared Wylan. “What is the story?”
“They do not talk about it much,” shrugged Mandal, “but gypsies do not miss anything. They are closer than a gypsy merchant and his purse.”
“They are in love,” interjected Hortice. “I heard that they plan to wed.”
“Marry?” questioned Wylan. “Now that is serious. She is a pretty woman. I think I can see why Tedi is attracted to her. How will she feel about leaving the gypsies?”
“It is more a question of how the gypsies will feel about her leaving,” corrected Hortice. “I think people are trying to talk Tedi into staying with the gypsies.”
“She must be well-liked,” reasoned Wylan. “Still, a woman normally follows her husband. I would think that the gypsies would wish her well.”
“She is not just a gypsy,” countered Hortice. “She is the princess of the gypsies. If Adan dies, it is her duty to lead us.”
“Princess?” echoed Wylan. “No wonder Tedi is back with the wagons.”
“It is more than that,” declared Mandal. “Tedi has been accepted as one of us. The people really like him. It is rare for a basta to be so accepted. Tedi is a very special person.”
“I still find it hard to believe that he would abandon Arik,” interjected Bin-lu. “He has sworn to serve Arik, and I do not think that Tedi would avoid his pledge even if he could.”
“Well, according to Adan,” commented Mandal, “the gypsies are also pledged to serve Arik now. I wish we had gotten a chance to meet this future king. The gypsies have never served anyone but their own king. It is still hard for me to imagine why Adan agreed to serve Arik.”
“It is the Ancient Prophecy,” explained Wylan. “Arik had been promised to the people to free them from the Dark One. It is the same reason that the dwarves have pledged to him.”
“It is exciting to be alive in this age,” interjected Bin-lu. “I have always dreamed of being a fighter, and now I have a true cause to fight for.”
“It is also a deadly age to be around for,” commented Hortice. “A great many people are going to die soon. We may be among them.”
“Nobody lives forever,” Wylan retorted cheerily. “I am sure that we will prevail. Sarac doesn’t stand a chance. The Sword of Heavens is going to skewer his gut.”
“I still don’t understand why Adan split the wagons from the herd,” Mandal interjected in an attempt to change the conversation. “Aren’t the weapons as important as the horses?”
“Both are important,” nodded Wylan, “but timing is critical. There is a chance that the weapons may not make it to Southland in time. If we kept the herd with the wagons, then neither would make it. This way at least the herd will make it.”
“The only bad side of it,” shrugged Bin-lu, “is that we get a few extra days of rest in Southland before the weapons arrive.”
* * *
“I am not looking forward to tomorrow,” sighed Adan as he watched Fredrik and Tedi sparring.
“Why is that?” asked Master Khatama. “Tomorrow is one day closer to Southland.”
“Did you not see it today?” questioned the king of the gypsies. “The edge of the Darkness is before us. Tomorrow we shall be under it.”
“The Darkness has been around for a number of years,” shrugged Boris. “A few more days under it will not kill us.”
“Perhaps not,” sighed Adan, “but I have grown used to having the sun shining once again. It is too wondrous a thing to give up. Besides, I am sure that being under the taint of Alutar is not good for a man’s soul.”
“That is rather strange wording,” frowned Boris. “What makes you think that the Darkness is tainted by Alutar?”
“It is what Ora led me to believe,” shrugged Adan. “More than that, though. “You can actually feel the taint. People are more a
rgumentative under the Darkness. I believe there is something in that Darkness that brings out the evil in men.”
“Interesting,” mused Master Khatama. “I never actually looked at it that way.”
“That is what the dwarves thought as well,” added Adan. “Zemo was telling me about the Dwarven Ruby. He said it had magical powers that protected the dwarves from the effects of the Darkness. That is why they could give it up for the clear skies overhead. They no longer needed its protection.”
“Its protection,” echoed Master Khatama. “What you are saying makes a great deal of sense to me. Your words are like a clearing of my own personal Darkness.”
“I have a feeling that you are telling me something,” stated Adan, “but I am not understanding it. Have you felt no effects at all being under the Darkness?”
“More effects than you can know,” declared Master Khatama. “I have failed to put the pieces of the puzzle together properly. Now it begins to make sense.”
“What effects have you noticed?” asked Adan as Natia and Niki arrived and sat down to watch the match between Tedi and Fredrik.
“I have had problems with memory loss,” admitted the Mage.
“And you think the Darkness might be responsible?” asked the gypsy king.
“Not the Darkness actually,” explained Boris. “Your use of the word taint tickled my mind. The Darkness is a spell that was given to Sarac by the demon Alutar. I have known Alutar for a great deal of time. Trust is not a word in his vocabulary. He would no more trust Sarac than Sarac would trust me.”
“Then why would Alutar give Sarac such a powerful spell?” questioned Niki as she turned her attention from the match to the conversation.
“Why indeed?” echoed Boris. “If Alutar was locked in another Universe and Sarac promised to free him when he was anointed the Dark One, why would Alutar believe that Sarac would follow through on his promise?”
“If he were true to form,” commented Adan, “he would not.”
“Exactly,” Master Khatama nodded vigorously as Fredrik and Tedi ended their match and joined the group. “So it is safe to reason that Alutar tricked Sarac in some way. What exactly is the purpose of the Darkness? Is it there merely to remind everyone that Sarac is the Dark One?”
“I thought it was meant to choke the life out of all living things,” suggested Fredrik. “It was meant to be a slow but sure death over a long period of time as plants eventually died and people starved to death.”
“Who then would Sarac rule?” asked Boris. “It makes little sense for the Dark One to kill everyone if he wishes to rule over them.”
“So you think the Darkness has another purpose?” asked Natia.
“I do,” nodded Master Khatama. “The question is, what is that purpose?”
“From what you have said so far,” offered Adan, “it must be some type of safeguard for Alutar.”
“How can anything safeguard Alutar?” asked Tedi. “I thought he was locked away in another Universe?”
Boris frowned as he thought about Tedi’s question.
“Unless there is something about the Ancient Prophecy that we have not been told,” interjected Fredrik. “If that is so, how could we ever find out?”
“By observation and deduction,” replied Master Khatama. “I am finally beginning to understand some things about the Darkness. I do think that you are correct, Adan. There is evil resident within the Darkness. That evil had to be put there by Alutar for some purpose, a purpose that we cannot yet determine.”
“That sums it up,” nodded Adan, “but does it get us any closer to understanding it?”
“I think it does,” nodded Boris. “Looking back at how the Darkness affects me is beginning to yield some clues.”
“How do you mean?” questioned Niki. “What kind of clues?”
“My memory loss,” explained Master Khatama. “For close to twenty years I have lived under the Darkness as everyone else has. I had a gradual loss of memory since the Collapse. Oh, it was negligible at first, but it can no longer be denied, as I have tried to do in the past.”
“You are just getting older,” reasoned Niki. “You should not dwell upon such things.”
“I must dwell upon them, Niki,” smiled Master Khatama. “This is not a game that we are involved in. It is a struggle for the entire world.”
“You said it was gradual at first,” interjected Natia. “Has that changed?”
“Very much so,” nodded Master Khatama. “And now that I look back upon it, my memory loss accelerated when the Sapphire of the Fairies was restored to the Sword of Heavens. When the Unicorns’ Opal was restored, the rate of loss increased even more.”
“But it came back after the Diamond of Edona was restored,” interrupted Tedi. “If you are trying to find a pattern, that fact destroys your logic.”
“My memory came back after the Darkness fled away,” corrected Master Khatama. “Just before that, I could not remember who people were. And I am not talking about people that I had met casually. I am talking about former students whose talents are extraordinary. I fear that I was close to losing all of my memory at that point in time.”
“Is that why you collapsed when the gems were inserted into the Sword of Heavens?” questioned Niki. “Was it because the Darkness was gone?”
“I believe that is the case,” affirmed Master Khatama.
“But you started losing your memory again not long after you collapsed at Barouk,” frowned Niki. “That still does not make any sense.”
“I started losing it again after I left the clear skies and passed under the Darkness once again,” Boris revealed.
“But your memory loss was faster than before,” protested Niki. “I think it just comes and goes.”
“The memory loss was faster,” agreed Boris, “and that is a clue. My memory recovery is also getting faster. At Dorgun after I collapsed, my memory came back swiftly.”
“That means that you should avoid going under the Darkness again,” warned Fredrik. “If the speed of your memory change is accelerating, you could be in great danger under the Darkness.”
“And we shall pass under the Darkness tomorrow,” cautioned Adan. “I agree with Fredrik. Based upon what you have said tonight, you should not continue on with us to Southland.”
“I fear you are correct,” sighed Master Khatama.
“That still doesn’t explain why everything is happening faster to you,” mused Tedi. “Do you think it could be just getting worse with time?”
“Worse?” echoed Master Khatama. “Regaining my memory at a faster rate is certainly not worse. Only the losing of my memory could be so described.”
“Suppose there is goodness in a normal sky,” posed Adan. “That goodness restores your memory. It is the opposite of the Darkness.”
“And with more goodness,” added Natia, “you recover your memory faster.”
“That doesn’t work,” Tedi shook his head. “The memory loss is also accelerating, and there is less Darkness with each gem that is restored to the Sword of Heavens.”
“Less Darkness?” questioned Master Khatama. “Is it less Darkness, or more concentrated Darkness?”
“And a greater concentration of evil,” nodded Adan. “That means that people still living under the Darkness will have more evil tendencies.”
“Is the evil in the Darkness the reason for things like the Contest of Power?” questioned Tedi. “And the rogue armies of Sordoa?”
“It certainly could be,” nodded Master Khatama.
“Then things in Tagaret may go poorly for Arik,” frowned Fredrik. “It is still under the Darkness.”
“But Lanoir is not,” countered Adan. “Does this mean that Emperor Hanchi might not invade Sordoa?”
“The Darkness is by no means the only source of evil,” Boris shook his head. “There was plenty of evil in the world before it arrived, but your fears may be justified, Fredrik. There is no longer any doubt that the Darkness is here for a purpose other t
han just blocking out the sun.”
“Why are the rest of us not losing our memories?” asked Niki. “If that is what the Darkness does to you, why doesn’t it do it to me?”
“I am peculiarly susceptible to Alutar,” declared Master Khatama. “We are opposites of a nature. It is only logical that Alutar’s spell would affect me more than anyone else.”
“Could the Darkness be an attack aimed against you then?” asked Adan. “Perhaps it has nothing to do with Sarac at all.”
“It could be revenge for me sealing Alutar in a prison Universe,” nodded Master Khatama. “I fail to see how he could gloat about it, though. He is, after all, banished from this Universe.”
“For all time?” asked Adan.
“No,” frowned Boris. “If we fail at fulfilling the Ancient Prophecy, Sarac will reign for a thousand years. At the end, Alutar will return.”
“A thousand years?” gasped Niki. “Well, that is certainly something we don’t have to worry about.”
Adan shook his head knowingly as he stared at Master Khatama.
* * *
“This bread is stale,” the Dark One scowled at the Black Devil.
The Black Devil looked around Sarac’s office and shrugged. He bowed low before the Dark One.
“There is no fresh bread available,” apologized the Black Devil. “Do you wish me to take it away?”
“In all the world there is no fresh bread?” yelled Sarac. “Or am I no longer important enough for you to make that extra effort?”
The Black Devil shivered with fear and started backing out of the room. Sarac’s hand flashed upward, and an icy blue streak shot across the room. The freeze ball impacted the Black Devil and froze him instantly.
“I am the Dark One,” bellowed Sarac. “I rule the world and all of its Universes. Never tell me that something is impossible.”
Sarac shook his head in rage, his long black hair swaying furiously. He sneered evilly with his teeth clenched tightly together as his black eyes peered at the frozen servant. In a burst of fury, Sarac unleashed a fireball at the Black Devil’s feet. The ice around the man’s feet instantly yielded to the heat, and a puddle of water grew on the floor. The puddle began to evaporate into steam as the fire ate through the man’s boots.
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