by Ryo Mizuno
“Is that so…?” Slayn said hesitantly. He didn’t quite understand his friend’s point.
“I’m about to accomplish what I set out to do,” Ghim said. “I will free Leylia from the power of that circlet and send her home to Neese in Tarba.”
“Then that’s why you came all this way…” Slayn muttered as he gazed at the grey mansion standing before them. It was all the more eerie for how silent and empty it seemed—they’d been expecting an attack before they got this close.
Parn and Etoh both felt the tension as they scanned their surroundings, wary of an ambush. They had no idea how many minions Karla had, but they knew she’d been able to carry out several missions simultaneously all over Lodoss. She had to have many people under her command.
Slayn cast a spell, sending the eye of his consciousness flying. He was surprised to find no guards around the mansion. Slayn continued his search, slipping his consciousness inside the building. He expected to be repelled by an enchanted barrier, but he made it inside easily and checked each room uninterrupted.
“There she is!” he cried, voice shrill with nerves. “I see Karla. She’s in a room on the second floor, wearing armor and holding a weapon. She…she’s looking this way. I’m sure she noticed me—she’s smiling…” Slayn closed his mind’s eye and shuddered. “I think she’s abandoning this place. There’s nobody else inside, and most of the rooms are empty.”
“So she’s been waiting for us…” Parn slowly drew his sword.
Even from outside, they could sense her anger. To a wizard of the ancient kingdom, the people of Lodoss were the descendants of savages. But over the past months, Parn and his friends had destroyed several of her plans, denounced her whole philosophy, and were now planning to confront her in a battle to the death. Surely, she would want to punish them personally for their insolence and would never imagine for a second that she might lose. Such a mindset could be a weakness they could take advantage of.
“All right, let’s get started!” Parn cried, gripping his sword.
“Don’t forget—we’re not here to kill her,” Ghim said with a glare at Parn.
“Of course not,” Parn said. “I can hold my own without striking anywhere deadly.” He turned to glance at Woodchuck, who stood silently at the very back of the group, and added, “Anyway, Woodchuck has the leading role today.”
They had planned out their attack carefully. First, Slayn would use the wand to neutralize Karla’s magic. Once that was done, Parn, Deedlit, and Ghim would fight her in close combat to keep her attention, protected by Etoh. That would give Woodchuck his chance—he was to sneak up behind Karla and remove the circlet from her head—a vital, dangerous role Woodchuck had volunteered to take on himself.
Parn opened the front door. He stepped inside and led them up the stone steps to the second floor. He was no longer wary, since he knew that if Karla meant to trap them, she would have had guards with her. He headed straight for the room where she waited, knowing that the battle for the fate of Lodoss would be waged there. If they lost, Lodoss would be cursed forever, trapped in that grey balance between good and evil.
Parn gripped the handles of the double doors and flung them wide. Beyond was a large hall built like a throne room, the walls and floor made of polished, black marble. At the very back of the room stood Karla.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” her clear voice echoed through the large hall. She stepped forward and seemed to lock her gaze onto each of them in turn. “I will end this once and for all. Come!” She spread her arms wide, and her right hand held a dagger that emitted a magical light.
“Karla!” Parn yelled, a rush of anger propelling him forward. “You vile witch! You toy with people’s fates!” Deedlit and Ghim chased behind him, trying to keep up with Parn’s furious dash.
That was the moment Slayn was waiting for. “Te-u-ra!” he called in a clear voice, casting the spell of the wand he was holding. He felt a great magical power surging from it.
Karla held out a hand to cast a fire spell at the three fighters charging toward her. A red fireball flared from her graceful fingers, trailing bright flames as it streaked toward them, large and powerful enough to kill them all—but just before it reached them, it fizzled like the flame of a candle being snuffed out.
“What is this?!” For a moment, Karla was bewildered. But she’d seen the wizard wield a wand in the corner of her eye…Was he able to create a field that neutralized magic? The face of the Great Magus flashed in her mind. Numerous powerful magical items had been created in the glory days of the ancient kingdom. Karla herself had crafted many besides her circlet. She knew that their magic was powerful, but there was always a way to counteract it. They wouldn’t be able to seal her for long with such a simple trick.
Ignoring the charging warrior, Karla focused and cast another spell.
“Mana is the source of all! Magic alone can seal magic. Magic alone can breach it!” The moment she finished speaking, a dry snap rang out.
The magic wand crumbled in Slayn’s hand; he shuddered in fear. He knew Karla had cast an elimination spell to neutralize the effects of other magic—but this wand should have kept working until its power ran dry, even if counteracted. Karla, however, had destroyed the wand itself. How much magical power would it take to do something like that? Slayn couldn’t imagine, but he was certain of one thing: their plan had failed.
“Be careful!” he called out. “She destroyed the magic barrier!” But Parn, Deedlit, and Ghim were already close enough to cross swords.
Etoh prayed for their divine protection, ready to cast holy magic as it was needed. As he waited, he noticed the black shadow running soundlessly along the wall. Good luck, everyone, he called out to them in his mind.
With a cry, Parn turned to face Karla from her right. He struck out at the hand holding the dagger. Karla parried easily. Deedlit, on her left, thrust at Karla’s leg with her rapier—but the wizard dodged with a light step. All the while she was casting a spell with faultless concentration— if she reached its end, they’d likely all be dead. Parn and Deedlit kept up the pressure, knowing that was all they could do. They hadn’t forgotten Wort’s warning not to kill her, but they couldn’t afford to ease up. If they gave her any opening at all, the dagger would defeat them, no spell required.
Hurry up, Wood! Parn thought. The thief was their only hope left.
“Wake up, Leylia! What did Neese teach you?!” Ghim yelled out from his place right before Karla, his voice shaking the whole room. He was glaring at Karla, not even bothering with a battle stance.
Karla was surprised that the dwarf knew the body she was controlling but knew his efforts would be in vain. Seven years earlier, she had gone to Tarba to take the treasure of the Great Temple of Marfa for herself. She had underestimated the priestess there and, as a consequence, the body she had occupied died. The priestess was incredibly tenacious; she’d survived Karla’s most powerful spell, only to strike her through the heart at the last moment.
This woman’s consciousness, her memories, are all gone. Her body and mind belong only to me, Karla thought as she continued to chant her spell, never stumbling over a word. Since her magic had been sealed—even if only for a few moments—she wanted to end them with a spell.
“Remember, Leylia! Remember the teachings of Marfa! The love for all of life and all of nature!” the dwarf continued. “Remember why you married all those young couples, why you represented the goddess of matrimony for young people who love each other! You would have never wanted to bring Lodoss into chaos! You would never tear apart so many couples and families in such a senseless war!”
Karla’s chanting did not pause, but its completion felt unusually slow. The dwarf’s words seemed to drag on her more than the onslaught from the other two. When Karla had still occupied her original body, she too had been a follower of Marfa. Taking control of Leylia’s body had connected her to the goddess through the priestess’s soul, letting her use Marfa’s magic.
She
didn’t know why hearing the deity’s name would upset her now, but whenever the dwarf spoke, a strange, foreign feeling welled up inside her. A fierce headache assaulted her. Could it truly be that the priestess of Marfa was regaining something of herself, trying to push Karla out?
Finally, Karla completed her spell.
“Silence!” she yelled. Her left palm was enveloped in an eerie red glow, which she pressed against the dwarf’s chest. The dwarf didn’t try to dodge. “Remember, Leylia!” he cried and gripped Karla’s wrist. The radiance moved from Karla’s hand to the dwarf’s body, where it faded like it was being absorbed. The dwarf, eyes wide open but unseeing, toppled slowly backwards.
He lay there, still as death.
“Ghim!” the elf girl cried, clearly shocked. Strangely, however, Karla felt a similar shock reverberate through her.
“Ghim…?” The word left her lips against her will. Her head spun, its ache increasing with every passing moment. Any plan to start casting her next spell vanished.
At that moment, a black shadow loomed up behind her.
“Gotcha!” a victorious cry rang out. Slayn and Etoh saw it happen—the thief, with fast, nimble hands, plucked the circlet from Karla’s head. Her coiffed black hair came undone and cascaded down in a disheveled mess. Karla let out a voiceless scream and crumpled to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut.
“Ghim!” Parn yelled, gathering the dwarf’s limp form in his arms. He could feel the warmth leaving the other’s body.
Parn repeated his name, trying to call back his spirit. Etoh ran over, already praying to Pharis. Slayn held a hand to his chest and just watched, quiet and solemn.
With tears in her eyes, Deedlit pointed her rapier at the unconscious woman on the floor. In a panic, Slayn restrained her.
“Let me go!” Deedlit cried, voice ringing hollow in the empty hall. “She killed Ghim! She has to die!”
“Do you really think Ghim would want that?” Slayn asked quietly. “He sacrificed his life to rescue her. I had my suspicions, but I didn’t know Ghim’s true goal until today. He never told me. But…years ago, he was injured in an accident in the mines. Neese, this woman’s mother, was called away from home to tend to him, and she saved his life. But while Neese was gone, her daughter was kidnapped. That must have been when her body was taken over by Karla.”
Deedlit let her rapier fall to the floor, shuddering. Parn gently wrapped an arm around her. She lay her cheek against his hand and closed her eyes against the tears.
“It’s no use…” Etoh let out a sorrowful sigh. He gently folded Ghim’s hands over his chest.
Slayn lowered his eyes and prayed for his friend’s soul, fulfilled now that Ghim had kept his promise.
“Poor Ghim.” Deedlit couldn’t bear to look. She buried her face in Parn’s chest, sobbing—perhaps the first time an elf cried over a dwarf in the whole history of Lodoss.
Slayn turned to Woodchuck. “Let’s bring this to an end—bring Karla to an end. Wood, please. Smash that circlet on the floor and break it. That will finally free Lodoss from the curse, and finish this once and for all.”
Through everything, Woodchuck had stood there dumbfounded. He looked down at the motionless dwarf, confused by the empty hole he felt in his heart.
But when Slayn addressed him, he snapped back to his senses and took a wobbly step backwards.
Deedlit could sense that something was wrong. She picked up her rapier.
“Wood? What are you thinking…you can’t be serious!” she said sharply.
“Th-that’s right,” Woodchuck replied, backing away from the others with a few deft steps.
“What’re you talking about? Go on, smash it!” Parn watched him, confused.
“You guys don’t know what it’s like…chained up in prison for twenty years. Yeah, I’ve done bad things. I’m a thief. But that was the only way I could live. I never had Parn’s courage or strength, or the smarts or opportunity to study the ancient language like Slayn. I knew the gods had abandoned me before I could remember, so I couldn’t follow Pharis, or Marfa, or Rahda…only the Thieves’ Guild understood me and accepted me.” His eyes grew wider. “But with this circlet…even I can be strong. I’ll control Karla’s power…and I’ll get revenge on the world that never wanted me! The world that robbed me of my youth! Everyone will remember the name of the great Woodchuck Jay Lancard!”
“Wood! Don’t be stupid!” Parn shouted, going pale.
“Parn, you’re a good guy,” Woodchuck said, his voice almost back to its usual tone. “I like how you don’t have a dishonest bone in your body. But you should really learn not to be so trusting, or somebody like me will come along and stab you in the back. And Deed, the forest fairy, blessed with eternal youth and beauty…you were so insufferable at first, but I grew to like you in the end. Etoh the noble, Slayn the wise—and the dead, stubborn dwarf. Traveling with you guys was a lot of fun, you know? We made a good team. I’ll always be waiting for you with open arms.”
“Wood, this has got to be a joke, right?” Parn cried. “Stop kidding around!”
“Goodbye, Parn. I wish I could’ve been more like you.”
With that, Woodchuck ran for the window. He flung it open, then turned back to face them with a lonely smile.
“Wood!” Parn’s scream shook the hall and echoed in Woodchuck’s ears.
He mouthed goodbye one last time, then jumped out the window. Parn ran over, but by the time he got there to look out, Woodchuck had already disappeared into the forest.
“Wood, you idiot,” Parn groaned, hanging his head low and leaning heavily on the windowsill. Slowly, he approached Ghim’s corpse again, knelt by his head, and traced the symbol of Pharis in the air. He took Ghim’s hand in his own again, now grown cold. “I swear, I’ll avenge you.”
Parn stood up and looked at his three remaining companions. “I’m going after him. I don’t think he’ll be able to control Karla. You guys, take care of the rest.”
“I’ll go with you,” Deedlit said. “Someone has to watch your back—the next Karla will be stealthy.” She jumped up and landed lightly at Parn’s side.
“Thanks,” Parn said with an embarrassed smile. “Um…don’t laugh, Deedlit, but I always wanted to be seen as a hero, to be one of the people they tell stories or sing songs about. But it turns out I’m not that kind of person. I should be heading back to Valis to fight as a knight and bring peace back to Lodoss. But…I can’t just stand by while the Grey Witch is still lurking in the shadows of history…”
Deedlit nodded silently. She’d known he wanted to be a hero from their first drunken conversation. And while she hadn’t seen him as particularly heroic then, she thought differently now.
“Your name may not go down in history…but the people of Lodoss will be telling tales of your straightforward stubbornness for years to come,” she said with a smile.
“I’m sorry, Parn,” Etoh chimed in with a pained expression. “I want to help you, but…I’ve sworn my life to Pharis. I have to return to Roid to rebuild Valis and the Order of Pharis there.”
Parn gave him a nod and a smile, and shook his childhood friend’s hand.
“I can’t join you either,” Slayn said. “I have to carry out Ghim’s wishes and accompany Leylia back to Tarba.”
“Ghim gave his life for her, so make sure she gets home safe,” Parn said and shook Slayn’s hand, as well. “See you,” he said in simple farewell to his friend. Then he took Deedlit’s hand and they left, side by side.
“I couldn’t save Ghim or Woodchuck,” Etoh mumbled, cursing his powerlessness. He turned one last time to the dwarf’s corpse and offered up a prayer for his soul to rest in peace. “This is all I can do for him. I’ll leave the rest to you, Slayn.”
“I guess this is goodbye,” Slayn said with a wave.
“Slayn Starseeker, I hope you find what you’re looking for,” Etoh said with a warm smile and a wave of his own. Then he turned and left the hall.
2
“Oh, I almost forgot…” Slayn reached into Ghim’s pocket and took out the gold craftwork. The hair ornament was the last thing the dwarf craftsman had made, so the wizard wanted to be sure it got to the person it had been intended for. He slipped it in his robe pocket and went back to waiting for Karla—or rather, Leylia—to regain consciousness.
It didn’t take long. A little while later, she stirred and moaned weakly.
“Are you all right?” Slayn asked gently, peering into her face. “How do you feel?”
The woman slowly opened her eyes. Slayn saw his face reflected in those clear blue orbs. She was beautiful—and she looked completely different from when she was under Karla’s control. Karla may have controlled her body and mind, but she couldn’t own her nature—and true beauty originated in the soul.
“Wh-who are you?” she asked, clearly confused. “What am I doing here?”
A moment later, her face went pale and her features twisted in torment.
Slayn knew what must be happening—she was regaining the memories of everything that had happened under Karla’s control. Slayn winced in sympathy—it seemed cruel that she’d have to carry those memories. But this was her destiny; it was an ordeal she must endure.
Leylia pushed herself up on her elbows and looked around quickly. After a moment, she caught sight of Ghim’s body and stared.
“Ghim…the kind dwarf craftsman…” she murmured, voice hoarse. Tears overflowed her eyes. “I do remember. Your voice…it reached me when I was asleep in the darkness, trapped deep in my own mind. I thought it was all just a nightmare…but this is real…” She staggered to her feet and stumbled over to Ghim’s corpse. She took his hand gently, then collapsed beside him, clinging to the body that could never speak to her ever again.