by Ryan Hodgson
They followed after Elunduil’s group again, occasionally having to circumvent large splinters of wood as they went along. A loud roar in the distance caught their attention as they reached the other side of tree. Ark looked to his left. He quickly calculated the position of the roar factoring in the sounds reverberating off of the trees around them. Considering how spread out the trees were with currently known data of the terrain he determined within a one percent margin of error the location of the roar. He looked at the footprints. His eyes were much better at seeing in this gloom than a human’s. The group ran straight and around another one of the large trees. Ark clenched a fist. Without a word he took off at full speed towards the sound and Trailblazer calls out to him. The tightness in Ark’s chest intensified. Hang on Elunduil!
***
Elunduil and the others stumble down a small hill in the forest at breakneck speed. The crashes from the beast that is chasing after them is practically behind them now. He looks to Alicia and Felras who are panting heavily. They can’t keep running forever. He looks to Tim and motions back at the two. Tim spares a quick glance to them and back to Elunduil and nods. “This way!” he calls out motioning to the left. The group follows his lead and Elunduil notices a small ravine barely wide enough for a person to squeeze through. As they approach it he sees that there is a small stream of water trickling from it. Maybe it leads to a larger stream? The group forms a misshapen line as they reach the ravine. Tim is the first one through and Elunduil, Alicia, Tanis, Felras, and Sean follow after him. There is a loud crash only a moment behind Sean as the creature slams into the side of the rock face. It looses a loud roar and starts tearing at the entrance.
Not good. Elunduil and the others sidle through the small ravine. “I hope this leads somewhere!” Sean calls out in a worried voice. Elunduil grunts in response. Several moments later he comes to a stop causing Alicia to bump into him and Tanis into her. “Why did you stop?” she asks gasping for air.
“I don’t hear it,” he says looking back. The others turn back to where they’d come from. “Maybe it gave up?” Tanis says hopefully. Elunduil doubts it. He looks up through the small crack in the ravine. It is probably going to come from above. Moments later there is a crash back towards the entrance. “Go, go, go!” Elunduil whispers. They start moving again and there is another crash that sounds like it is closer and from somewhere above.
The sound slowly chases them as they go but thankfully the beast doesn’t seem to have their location pinpointed. After a bit the ravine opens up and they are able to trot normally. They rush ahead of the noise as quickly and quietly as possible. They need a way out! A couple dozen feet later they find an opening up above and quickly climb their way out and back into the dark forest. Ahead of them there is a small stream of water that trickles into the hole they’d climbed out of. Elunduil looks back the way they had come. They are now resting atop a small cliff. He hears a crashing noise in the distance. “I hope it can’t make it up here,” he murmurs. He can’t see the beast from here.
He is about to turn and say that they should get away while they can as Tanis slips on a large rock. He falls onto his rear end and the rock he had stepped on dislodges and rolls down into the ravine. A loud echo rings out and everyone is still. Has the beast heard? They wait for several long moments. The sounds in the distance have stopped. “Let’s go!” Tim whispers and the group makes to leave. As they walk away Elunduil hears loud footfalls in the distance that are getting closer. “It’s coming!” he calls out and they start to run. Alicia stumbles and falls to the ground. “I-I can’t run anymore!” she says with haggard breath.
Elunduil helps her to her feet and looks to Tim. “We can’t outwalk it. At least here we have a height advantage,” Tim says in response to Elunduil’s gaze. “I don’t think any of us can carry her either so…” Tim materializes his staff. “We’ll drive it off! Felras take Alicia and get back. You too Sean. Tanis and Elunduil, we will draw a line here.” Tim drags the tip of his staff through the earth. “As soon as we see its ugly mug we all blast it! Felras! Do what you can to help us! Are we ready?”
“So… Final Destination, no items, one life?” Elunduil says jokingly. Tanis and Tim snort. “Indeed.” Tim replies. They turn their attention back to the forest. All they can do is wait as the creature gets closer.
The footfalls of the beast reach the base of the cliff they are standing on moments later, and they hear it jump and two large clawed hands grab onto the edge of the cliff. The claws dug in as the beast pulls itself up. “Knock it down!” Tim shouts. Elunduil blows a gust of wind at one of the hands and Tanis and Tim follow up with their own attacks. A bolt of light and a magic boulder join the wind and together they slam into the hand. The light dissipates and the boulder bounces off harmlessly. Elunduil’s wind also has no effect. “Raise the earth!” Tanis says to Tim who nods and points his staff towards the hands. The earth below the beast’s hands juts up into small spikes which make it more difficult for the creature to get a grip. The beast is faster though and grabs onto a different part of the cliff. Tim tries to push the earth up but the creature lifts itself up and over the ledge.
It’s monstrous. It has black skin and stands around two stories tall. Elunduil can just make out the yellow in its eyes that lay between two black horns that jut out from the side of its head. “Hah!” Tim call out as he raises the entire side of the cliff up in an attempt to push it over. The beast grabs down on the rising land and heaves itself towards the group and forces them to scatter. Elunduil winds up to the left of the creature and near the stream whereas Tim and Tanis are on the right. The creature is in the middle now and standing on all fours.
Elunduil shoots a ball of fire at the beast that licks the beast’s arm for a moment before disappearing. What the heck?! It’s like he is fighting an enemy so far above him in levels that his attacks do no damage. Can they even win? The beast ignores Elunduil and lurches towards Tim and Tanis. Tanis shoots a bolt of light from his sword and Tim attempts to sink the earth to slow it down. The beast is unmoved by their attempts and raises a claw to strike them when a large boulder smacks it in the side.
Elunduil and the beast look over and see Sean holding a gun-like contraption. “Come get some more!” he shouts and pulls up another rock from the earth with the gun. He fires it at the beast this time hitting it squarely in the jaw. It growls and walks towards Sean. “Wait, don’t Alicia can’t run!” Tim calls out and Sean looks at Alicia and Felras and back to the beast. The color drained from his face as realization dawns on him. He swears and dashes over to Alicia. “Help me little man!” he shouts to Felras as they string Alicia up between them and try to get away. Elunduil grits his teeth. This was no time to hold back! He holds up a hand and a wall of fire shoots up around the beast. Four orange-blue petals form and when Elunduil clenches his fist they close around the beast in a brilliant display of light and flame. The beast emerges unscathed much to his dismay. It looks at him and snorts as if it was sneering at him before turning and following after Sean and the other two.
It quickly catches up to the trio and brings down one of its massive arms on them. A radiant light shines in the darkness and Tanis’ voice rang through the dark. “Light, arise!” he shouts as the beast’s fist collides with the light. Elunduil looks on in awe as he sees Tanis holding up his sword with radiant gold energy billowing from the tip and forming a shield. For a second he thinks Tanis will be able to hold off the beast but the moment he hears the beast grunt he knows it is over. It twists its torso and a tail appears from the gloom that he hasn’t noticed until now. It whips around and catches Tanis square in the chest and sends him flying with a sickening crunch. “Tanis!” Tim calls out. He rushes towards the beast and shoots several spikes of rock at its back. The beast ignores him and makes to attack Alicia and the others once more, however as it lunges forward it appears to get caught on something.
Elunduil notices that dark shadows are wrapped around the creature’s arms and legs and
saw Felras holding up a hand. His brother’s shadow element! He’s never seen Felras use that kind of magic before but here in the gloom of the forest it is probably more potent. He holds both hands and gatherd holy energy between them. He has to hit it now while it can’t move! He releases the energy and a beam of light pierces through the dark forest and slams into the side of the beast. When the light fades Elunduil was dismayed. It’s still standing! The place where his magic had hit the creature looked burned but the damage was superficial. The beast roars and tries to turn towards him. The shadows hold it for the moment but the creature strains against its bonds and slowly turns about. Elunduil gulps. It recognizes him as a threat. If that is the case then… He looks to the others. Felras looks like he is at his limit. He turns and runs following the stream. A few moments later he hears a loud roar and heavy footfalls pursuing him. Here it comes!
He manages to keep ahead of the creature only due to the increasingly rocky terrain as he darts through the forest. The stream becomes a small river and there are large boulders strewn about that he can dash around. Not that it matters. He is fatigued and nearing his limit. He hears the sound of rushing water in the distance. It is also getting a bit less gloomy. The stream disappears into the side of a steep slope that is too small for him to squeeze into. He can climb the cliff if he has time, but the footfalls of the beast are right behind him. He doesn’t have time to climb. That’s what I have magic for! He thinks as he gathered his energy. When he gets close to cliff he releases his magic around himself, summoning a strong gust of wind that propels him off the ground. He flies up precariously and makes it just to the top of the cliff. He grabs onto the ledge with both hands before he falls back to the ground. That is almost the last of his magical energy! He can’t fight back if he gets caught again!
He grunts and pulls himself over the ledge of the cliff as the creature claws at him from below. Not even it can jump this high up. Without glancing back he jogs away with haggard breath. The sounds of rushing water are getting closer! He turns back when a loud thump resounds in the air. It’s climbing after him! He picks up his pace and darts towards the water he hears. He hopes that the river is deep enough that he can get away in it.
He passes around a somewhat smaller tree and stops in his tracks. There is a large gap in front of him and he can hear the sound of water from below the lip of the gap. He walks up to it and peers down. Water flows far below. Almost as far as the cliff he’d just flown up. He cannot tell if there are rocks at the bottom and hesitates to jump. Well it would at least be better than facing the beast.
He takes a step forward and glances to his right. A large arm was coming at him! He instinctively throws up a barrier. The green light shatters instantly and Elunduil hears something crunch as he finds himself flying through the air. Pain sears through his body and he gasps for air when he lands. He struggles to rise but a sharp pain in his chest brings him back down. Something is broken. He looks up and sees the blurry shape of the beast sauntering up to him. He is basically out of magical energy, hurt, and unable to get up. If that is the case then-! He brings up his right arm. Good, the APL device is intact. He grits his teeth as he moves his left hand over and presses the Inventory button. The menu shows his stored items and he selects one and then hit the button to bring it out of storage. A pale blue light briefly shines and a familiar green hilt appears in his hand. Elunduil staggers to his feet. The beast rises onto its hind legs and rears back a fist to strike. Elunduil ignores his pain and grabs the grip of his sword and pulls it out of its sheathe. It’s all or nothing now!
As he starts to utter the sword’s name a flicker of motion appears from the side and strikes the beast. The creature roars as two v-shaped blades of golden light dig into its shoulder. Elunduil registers a blur of silver as the figure jumps off the creature. It’s Ark! The beast turns to face its new foe and roars. It swipes at Ark who jumps over and slashes at its arm as he passes over. The energy blade hisses as it cut into the beast’s skin and Ark flips and lands on the ground. He clicks his tongue. He’d barely scratched the beast. He darts forward keeping his torso low and slashes at the beast’s legs as he passes them. It roars and brings down a fist that forces Ark to dodge out of the way. The beast lunges forward and swings at Ark with greater speed than before forcing him onto the defensive as he dodges and weaves out of the way. It is hard to counter attack against a beast whose arms are like tree trunks.
Ark analyzes the beast’s attack pattern trying to find an opening in its strikes. There! Every three swings it would do a back-handed smash leaving a brief pause between the next strike. Ark waits for the next opening. One, two, three. Now! He jumps up into the air at the beast’s horned head and flips his sabers around. He will drive them into the creature’s face and end this fight! There is a blur of motion on his right and he sees the creature swiping at him! Crud! It had lured him into a trap by leaving a delay. He hadn’t accounted for it attacking backhanded with the other arm while the first one was in the air behind it.
Ark twists his body to the left as the claws tore through the side of his chest and he is sent flying. He hit the ground hard but manages to roll into a kneeling position. He glances at his right side and a chunk of the torso is missing. Blue digital particles spill out from the wound like blood. A cold chill grips him as he realizes he is dying. He looks up to the beast as it closes in. Was this it? He catches movement to his left and sees Elunduil hobbling at the beast with his sword. A screech rises from the blade. “Elunduil, don’t!” he shouts as he realizes what is happening.
Ark’s words rang hollow to Elunduil as he limps his way to the beast. If he doesn’t do something Ark will be gone! Then he would be next. “Sword of Time!” he says in a harsh whisper. Ripples appear around the blade’s aqua blue edge that distort the space around it as it rises to full power. The beast seems to notice and turns to Elunduil. The screeching intensifies and the blade begins to splinter up the middle. The beast charges him. He raises the sword high. Disappear! He brings down the blade. That was when it happened. The sword shatters into millions of pieces and there is a brief flash of blue before Elunduil is knocked away by an invisible force. When he hit the ground the only thing he registers are waves of distortions passing by him before he blacks out.
Chapter 16
The Missing Pieces
Traiblazer and the other knights had managed to find most of the teens in the forest. Tim had told them what had happened and that Elunduil lured the beast away. Trailblazer had taken half of the men with him and had gone after them while Alicia tended to Tanis’ wounds. He had been knocked unconscious after he had been hit and had yet to come to, his clothes torn from the rocks he had landed on. Alicia’s hands glowed a pale green as she healed Tanis. In her trance she could see that the ribs on his left side had been broken and one of them was dangerously close to piercing his lung. She took a deep breath and slowly moved the broken bones back into their normal position. Thankfully there were no small pieces for her to piece back together otherwise she would be out of her league. She then used her magic to slowly regenerate the bones until they were at least set back in place.
Exhausted, she gasped as she came out of the trance. Unlike the others she hadn’t had much chance to use her magic so healing something like this took just about everything out of her. She looked over the rest of Tanis’ body. She was somewhat surprised by his partially exposed chest. He actually looked somewhat toned. All of that swordplay with Galimere must be the cause. The way he’d jumped in front of the beast to save them had been brave… She looked up at the trees. Right now Elunduil was fleeing from the beast. Please be ok!
Tim had followed the knights as they pursued Elunduil’s trail. They’d followed the stream and climbed up a tall cliff that looked as if something large had clawed its way up it. They had feared the worst but Trailblazer had found Elunduil’s trail and they followed it. They heard a roaring river ahead and the dim forest grew slowly brighter. They stopped in their tracks when a
peculiar sight came into view. The trees ahead where fading in and out of view and some of them would reappear for a moment but were significantly smaller. There was even one tree nearby that seemed to be partially caught in the phenomenon as part of it became smaller then magically grew back to its normal size. “What the hell is going on?!” Trailblazer exclaimed as he looked back and forth. He spotted a large creature in the distance that had black skin and yellow eyes. “A Behemoth!” He stepped forward but Tim put a hand on his shoulder.
“Wait. You don’t want to go in there right now. There’s no telling where in time you would find yourself in.” Trailblazer looked confounded as he stared at Tim. “It’s a temporal distortion. That’s why everything here is either fading in and out. Elunduil must’ve used his sword and it broke. Right now the only thing we can do is wait it out,” he explained. Trailblazer thought for a moment then looked to his men. After shouting some orders they pulled out an armory of weapons from their APL devices and took aim at the Behemoth. They all had large metal tubes mounted over their shoulders that looked like they fired something besides rockets out of them. “Laser cannons. About the only thing we’ve found that can hurt those beasts,” Trailblazer said as he followed Tim’s gaze. They turned back to the phenomenon. Now they waited.
***