Garlan couldn’t take his eyes off the spirit of his sweet wife and he wanted to reach out and touch her. He wanted to scream out from the depths of his lungs to not listen to anything this foul beast had to say. But, he couldn’t do any of that. He was completely powerless.
“And what sad news would that be?” she said as she stopped a few steps away. She held the Staff of Fire in both hands, crossing in front of her, with the crystal about eye level with the beast.
“Oh, it’s quite sad, I’m afraid,” said the beast.
Then he raised his hand from the folds of his shabby, smelly cloak and held Blaze up for her to see.
Marnell gasped when she saw the sword of her husband in the bony clutches of this demon.
“Where did you get that?”
“Why, I got if from your husband, of course.”
“You lie! He would never give it up willingly!”
The demon laughed at her.
“Oh, I didn’t say he gave it up willingly. In fact, he put up quite a struggle,” he growled.
“Don’t listen to him!” screamed Garlan, but it was only in his mind. His mouth produced no sound.
The beast waved his hand and the far wall began to shimmer and it dissolved into a dark scene. Marnell turned to see it and what she saw caused a tear to roll down her face.
She saw Garlan entering a dark cave, telling Keelee to find a place to hide and then moving through a low passageway. She saw him come out in another chamber and be confronted with the beast that stood before her now.
She cried out when she saw the beast tear Garlan’s face and slam his body against the wall of the chamber. Her heart broke as she saw her injured and broken sweetheart crawl from the chamber, back down the passage to the front part of the cave.
She saw a struggle between five other men and the deaths of four of them, all falling around Garlan as he lay on the floor of the cave.
The beast came out of the passage and moved toward her husband, picking up Blaze along the way. When she saw Keelee get killed trying to protect Garlan, her rage was fully lit.
She lashed out at the demon and the Staff of Fire erupted in a large, hot fireball. It was so fast and loud that Garlan almost dove for cover.
But, the demon just walked right through it. The fireball dissipated all around him as he closed the gap between Marnell and himself.
Marnell cast again, hoping to slow his advance, but her fireballs were having no effect on him.
He reached out and gripped her by the throat.
“Save your magic, little lady. It’s useless. Did you think I was really here? Just like you, I am somewhere else.”
She struggled to break free of his hold and clutched at his wrists. She could feel the leathery skin under her fingers. Even though his wrists were slender, he was as strong as a bear.
“Let me show you where I really am.”
He dragged her over to the wall and turned her face to the scene.
“Watch what happens to those that oppose me.”
She watched in horror as the demon took Blaze and ran it through the chest of Garlan. She wanted to turn away, but the demon held her firmly, forcing her to watch the horror.
The demon in the scene pulled the blood covered sword from her husband’s chest and then started hacking away at him, slicing his arms and legs. And with a final blow, he brought the blade down on Garlan’s neck and separated his head from his body.
Marnell felt her heart break completely at the sight in front of her. They were supposed to be together for the next thousand years. She was going to grow old with him and become a little gray lady that took care of him, while he insisted he was taking care of her.
The demon jerked her head close to his and he growled into her ear, “I lied about one thing though. He didn’t put up much of a struggle at all. Kind of pathetic, really.”
Garlan was feeling more and more rage building in his chest, but no matter how much fire he felt in his soul, he couldn’t break the bonds that held him.
“Please sweetheart,” he cried out in his mind, “hear me! I am alive!”
“Let me show you what is happening to the rest of your friends,” said the demon as he dragged her across the room.
The wall on the other side of the room flickered and then a scene unfolded, showing the battle that was going on at Rosemoor.
She began feeling all her strength leave her soul as she watched troops by the hundreds fall, dragons crashing to the ground, with their riders on their backs and the entire village of Rosemoor laid waste in fire and explosions.
“You lost,” growled the demon.
At that moment he let go of her throat and she dropped in a heap on the floor of the castle. Having seen everything she cared about taken away from her, she began to feel as if there was no reason to go on living. Garlan was gone, the village of Rosemoor had been completely destroyed and she couldn’t do anything to prevent any of it.
She clutched her staff to her chest, trying to will it to give her strength, but it couldn’t break through the sadness she was feeling deep in her soul. She felt even more disconnected with her real body than before and she felt like she was moving farther away from the world of the living with every passing minute.
The demon stood over her and looked down at her.
“You are even more pathetic than that useless husband of yours. The world of wizards has definitely fallen in stature over the past few hundred years.”
Garlan stood rooted to the spot he was standing on, wanting desperately to go to his wife and put his arms around her and comfort her, but he couldn’t move a muscle. All he could do was watch her being tormented by this dark creature. The more he witnessed this, the more enraged he became, trying to will himself to break free of the bonds holding him, but they became even tighter with the increased effort he put into it.
“You better kill me right now.”
The creature turned and faced him.
“Oh, I have no intention of killing you. What fun would that be? I intend to let you live and let you watch the entire world around you fall into flames and ruin. When I am finished with you, it will be everything I can do to keep you from killing yourself.”
He turned his attention back to Marnell, who was still lying in a heap on the floor, clutching at her staff and crying at the things she had seen. She could feel herself being driven deeper into her mind and even though she knew she shouldn’t, she began to flow along with the emotions that were carrying her farther away from the real world. She knew that her prison had been constructed by Kerrick and she couldn’t find her way out, but this new demon was building an even stronger fortress to house her spirit. If she didn’t do something soon, there would be no escape from it. Not now, not ever.
But, she couldn’t find the strength to fight back. The man of her life was dead. All of her friends had been killed in a battle in Rosemoor. She began to realize she had nothing left to fight for.
As Garlan watched he could see she was beginning to fade.
“What are you doing to her?!”
“I’m taking her off the playing field. When I’m finished with her, the prison that my student built for her, will be completely inescapable.”
He looked back down at the young wizard, who had faded almost out of sight.
“Oh, this is so tragic,” he said, looking back at Garlan. “Anything you want to say to her before she is gone completely? Not that she can hear you anyway.”
Garlan looked at his wife, or at the barely visible mist that used to be her spirit.
“I love you, Marnell. And I will find you and bring you back!”
“How touching. Practically makes my heart go pitter patter.”
In a few more seconds, she was gone completely. Garlan felt a tear stream down his cheek, which surprised him. Was he feeling a tear on his face here in Whitestone Castle, or was it while lying on the floor in Kerrick’s lair? He couldn’t tell anymore.
“Now that that’s done, shall we re
turn to the only home I’ve known for the past eight hundred years?” said the creature.
The great room of the castle began spinning around Garlan and he felt dizzy and had to close his eyes. The coolness of the castle interior was replaced with the hot air of the cave in the desert and when he reopened his eyes, he was laying on the floor of the cave and the creature was still crouched down and looking into his eyes.
“No, you pathetic excuse for a wizard. I am not going to kill you, but when I’m finished with you, you’re going to wish I had.”
He stood up and looked at the soldier that had been witnessing this whole affair.
“Do you think you can handle a mission with this weak wizard?”
“Yes, master,” said the soldier with a bow.
“I don’t know. There used to be four of you, but now there is only you. Maybe I should find someone else to take this mission.”
The soldier stood up straight and threw his chest out and pulled his shoulders back.
“I can handle it, master. What is it you wish me to do?”
The creature looked up at him and then nodded.
“Yes, I think I’ll give you one more chance, but make no mistake about it. You fail me one more time and you will join your brethren,” he said as he motioned to the dead soldiers laying around them.
“I will not fail you.”
“Good, good. All I ask is you take this man, who can hardly call himself a wizard, and transport him to Whitestone Castle. Do not enter the castle or even the grounds until my student gets there.”
“When will he arrive?”
“Not long after you get there. But don’t be in the castle when he does get there or you might find yourself being fried to a crisp. Wait until he is finished and then deliver this man to him.”
“Understood. I’m just worried about his ability to cast spells.”
The creature pulled Blaze out and held it up.
“This is his anchor to the magic you are so scared of. Most wizards have staffs. He has this sword. Without it, he will be as feeble and helpless as a puppy.”
The soldier nodded and bent down and hauled Garlan to his feet, which caused a wave of pain to the young wizard. The pain was such that Garlan almost lost consciousness.
As he was stood up, the creature moved in front of him.
“You’re heading home, young wizard. But, I’m thinking you won’t find it as pleasant as you remember it.”
Garlan resisted the urge to spit in the creature’s eye, but only because he had a question on his mind and hoped he’d get an answer.
“You keep saying your student.” said Garlan through the pain. “I assume that’s Kerrick. So, I have to ask, who are you?”
The creature moved right in front of Garlan and the young wizard could feel his fetid, hot breath.
“Oh, where are my manners? I should have introduced myself long ago.”
He stepped away and spun around, with his withered, black arms stretched out.
“You may think of this as Kerrick’s lair, but before he moved in, this was my home. For the past eight hundred years.”
Garlan looked at him and then a growing light of realization began to build in his mind.
It can’t be true.
“Magrum the Dark?” he said softly.
The creature almost danced back to the spot in front of Garlan.
“And it only took you a few hours to figure that out.”
“But … you died. My master killed you four hundred years ago!”
Magrum jerked back and then grabbed Garlan’s face with his black hand.
“No, your master tried killing me four hundred years ago. He couldn’t even do that right.”
Then, the scene played out in Garlan’s mind, showing the battle up the side of Mount Thunder and the final casting of Magrum into the volcano. Garlan saw him fall and then the swirls of wind pushed Magrum off the path to the lava below and onto a ledge just a few feet above the glowing lava.
Garlan saw him lie there for hours, unconscious, while the heat in the volcano turned his white skin black, burned off all of his white hair and scorched his eyes closed.
After what may have been many hours, he saw Magrum claw his way back up the side of the volcano and out of its fiery throat. After days of crawling on his belly like a snake, he found his way back to his cave and into the back chamber. There he lived on whatever vermin he could get his hands on, mostly rats and snakes that ventured too close.
Magrum released Garlan’s face and thrust him away.
“I look forward to meeting up with your master again. This time, it will be him that finds the bottom of a volcano.”
Garlan gritted his teeth, not wanting to let this monster know his master was dead, at the hands of his student. He would never give this evil that satisfaction.
“Get him out of here!” growled Magrum.
The soldier yanked Garlan away from the dark lord and out of the entrance to the cave. He began walking the young wizard down the path and to the remnants of the encampment at the base of the mountain. He stopped to gather some supplies in a travel bag and then threw some more in another bag.
He slung the second bag over Garlan’s neck, which caused him some more pain.
“Stop your whining, wizard. You’re lucky to be alive. And if you plan to live during this desert crossing, you will carry your own supplies.”
Garlan nodded and said weakly, “I’ll do it, but we may be slow. I am injured and with my hands behind my back, I may fall.”
The soldier looked at him, shook his head and then reached down and untied his hands. After pulling them in front, he retied them, making sure the knots were secure. He didn’t feel like having to pick this weak wizard up if he fell.
“Thank you for this,” said Garlan.
“Let’s go,” he said as he pushed Garlan out in front of him and they set out across the Eastern Desert.
Black Mountain loomed in the distance, at least a day’s walk away. A walk to a future that held nothing for him, but darkness.
His wife was driven further into the prison in her mind and no one in Rosemoor knew what was going on here. He only hoped to live long enough to save Marnell, rejoin his friends and bring them news of Magrum’s return to the land of the living.
Chapter 33 ~ Seeking The Help Of Friends
Pendivall and Claudious stood in the middle of what used to be the small village of Tottenham. All around them were the remains of the buildings that Claudious had come to knows as his hometown. Not having been a training wizard for the past few hundred years, Tottenham had fallen under his care.
He still berated himself whenever he thought about the Teagan family and what they had done right under his nose and how it had taken an apprentice wizard to put a stop to their dictatorial rule over the village.
Now there was nothing but a few blocks left standing around what used to be the town square.
Two women stepped beside them, both with their arms locked together.
“Not exactly the welcome we were expecting.”
Claudious looked at them and shook his head.
“No Meribeth, it’s not. I am truly sorry for the way things have turned out for this little village.”
“I just hope the day will come when we can come back here and rebuild it.”
The other woman spoke, “That day will come sweetheart. We’ll do it in the memory of Carlos and all the others that died here that day.”
Meribeth looked at her with tears in her eyes.”
“Thank you, Molly.”
Pendivall looked to the west at the setting sun, The shadows were beginning to get long across the square and complete darkness would fall within the next hour. He turned and motioned with his hand and dozens of people began filtering out of the trees and into the open space. The group was made up of bowmaidens, swordsmen and a handful of royal soldiers. Some were the refugees that had taken shelter at Whitestone Castle when Tottenham was destroyed. As the original grou
p had fled to the south, they stopped at Whitestone to gather all the women and children from there.
He turned to address the group as they gathered around him.
“Tonight will be our last night of wandering through the trees like frightened little animals. Most of you have been wondering where we are going and some of you may have already figured it out.”
One of the swordsmen raised his hand and Pendivall nodded to him.
“Sire, what makes you think we will be welcomed there? They are quite protective of their privacy.”
There was a murmur that went through the group as the rest of them began to realize where they were going.
“I don’t know that they will welcome us. Neither one of us knows the answer to that question. But, right now, the Land of the Dragons is our only hope for refuge. Master Claudious and I have been trying to reach out to Mirroth the White, hoping to gain his favor, but we haven’t been able to receive any answers back. The only thing we can do is go to the gates and hope they let us in.”
Claudious looked at the group and said, “If they don’t let us in, we may have to turn to the east and head into the Southern Desert. But make no mistake, we must get out of Wyndweir for the time being.”
Captain Jong stepped forward and looked at the two wizards, “If we have to, my men and I will storm those gates and get them open.”
Claudious smiled and said, “Captain, it will not come to that and you best hope that it doesn’t. If they decide to keep the gates closed to us, they will have the force of dozens of dragons to back them up. We are not going there to fight with those that call the Land of the Dragons home.”
“Okay,” said Jong, “but just know, we are ready and willing to do whatever you ask.”
“Thank you captain.” said Pendivall. “It’s good to have you with us.
“Alright,” said Claudious, “just as we have for the last twelve nights, we will be moving through the darkness. Please stay close together and watch out for each other because right now, each other is all we have.”
He turned and started walking south and the group fell in behind. They walked in two lines, one on each side of the road, which put them under the cover of the overhanging trees that lined their way. The swordsmen spread themselves out through the group and the royals took up positions throughout the lines. Pendivall took up the rear, walking along with Jong.
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