Tag: Dwarves

43. Cassandra

On By MaryIn 2023, WritingLeave a comment

The tension was palpable as we walked. Even Jon Umberling had stopped chattering and grown quiet as we descended further through the tunnels, his glasses flashing in the lights we carried as he kept his head lifted to stare at the ceiling. The soldiers were all wary as well, and the collected anxiety was catching amongst the rest of us. I walked arm in arm with Lyre, who was constantly glowing, holding tight to his magic in preparation for anything. The silence was eerie, with the sounds of our footsteps and the rustling of our gear being the only noise. Whenever anyone did talk, they kept their voices low, and the whispers echoed in an unsettling way. Peter stayed close to Lucas, almost like a dog at heel, and made soft clicking noises.

It was hard to tell the time of day from underground, but Raella said that we left Gno’s temple late in the afternoon, so it felt like we were making camp very soon after leaving. When we made camp for the night, some of the tension released, and some of the soldiers began to converse amongst themselves a little less quietly, though all of it was still very subdued. I don’t think anyone slept well that night, even though it seemingly remained quiet and calm.

Despite that calmness, in the morning things became even more subdued and tense. Even before Captain Kaphryn approached, our group could tell that something was wrong from the murmurs and nervousness of the soldiers. Captain Kaphryn approached Raella to quietly tell her that at least three of her men had disappeared in the night. “We suspect that more of us will get picked off through the day,” she said, her face grim. “You’ll be safer in the center, but make sure you stay together in groups of two or three and report immediately if anyone goes missing.”

Greyjon looked at the Captain in surprise. “We didn’t hear anything last night.”

Kaphryn nodded. “Neither did we,” she said as she moved away from us, and the displeasure was clear in her voice.

Greyjon frowned but nodded and we were allowed to choose our assigned partners. Lexie immediately gripped Lucas’s arm, and he grimaced at her as Peter happily trilled. “Okay, that’s one grouping. Peyton, stay close to me and Raella.” He glanced over at where Lyre and I were practically attached at the hip and grinned. “I assume you two will keep an eye on each other?” I nodded.

“We’ll keep an eye on our scholar,” Chase said, pulling on Zolambi’s sleeve and ruffling Jon’s hair so that his glasses went slightly askew. Jon straightened his glasses and frowned at her, his face mildly flushed.

Greyjon glanced over at Asterollan. “You can’t continue to brood by your lonesome. Choose a grouping.”

Asterollan clapped a hand onto my shoulder. “I’ll keep an eye on the lovebirds,” he said, his tone light and teasing. I smiled at him.

“Okay, everyone stays close. Don’t go anywhere alone. Make mental notes to check for your partners at regular intervals. If someone is out of your sight for even a second, say something.”

“What if we have to pee?” Lexie asked curiously.

Lucas sighed and planted his face in his palm. “You should have chosen Peyton as your partner,” he grumbled, frowning at the girl through his fingers.

Greyjon looked annoyed. “We can readjust the groups if we need to,” he said.

“The spider can watch us pee,” Lucas said, sounding equally annoyed. “Or we can decide on pee partners as we walk. It looks like we’re about to start moving.”

“What if we have to poop?” Lexie whispered as the soldiers ahead of us began to move, and we gathered ourselves and followed after.

“Nobody is waiting for you to poop. Wear a diaper,” Lucas whispered back.

“Ewww,” Lexie commented dramatically.

I chuckled as she continued to pester him with other scenarios as we walked, marveling at how he acted like a big brother to her. Every couple of minutes I would swivel my head around to look at Asterollan, who was trailing behind Lyre and me. Finally, I said, “Maybe you should walk ahead of us so we can keep an eye on you.”

He looked a little startled at the suggestion, but compliantly moved to walk ahead of us. I found myself staring at the back of his head as we walked, absent minded and tense and waiting for something to happen. I kept reminding myself to breathe. I’m sure my nervousness was quite obvious, because Lyre kept squeezing my hand in reassurance.

Late in the morning as we reached a larger, almost cavernous section of the tunnel that opened into a crossroad that split three ways. there was a commotion behind us and we all stopped as Captain Kaphryn moved from the forward position and went to investigate the issue. Soon she was moving back through the ranks, quietly ordering the soldiers to arm themselves and form a protective circle around us. She didn’t shout the orders, and actually sounded quite calm, but her face was pale and her eyes kept darting around, checking the walls and the ceiling. Glancing up, I could see that our dim lights didn’t reach that high. As she walked past us, Greyjon grabbed her shoulder. “What happened?” he asked.

“Several more of my men have disappeared from the rear. The Underlings are picking us off.” She moved on to pass her orders towards the soldiers at the front as we each looked around at each other. Lexie paled and looked significantly less amused, kneeling to pet Peter, who was making soft clicking noises, its many eyes glittering in the lights. Several of us began to shift into a tighter grouping. I could hear Peyton gasp suddenly, saying, “I can hear their minds. They’re so close. They’re everywhere.” I twisted my head, trying to spot what she could sense.

As the soldiers moved in to surround us and form a protective barrier, several of us lit up, glowing with our magic. Asterollan also reached for his magic, and the significantly brighter glow of his power lit up the stretch of tunnels that we were in like a miniature sun. I heard Jon gasp in terror, and looked over to see that his head was tilted back to stare at the ceiling.

And then I saw movement out of the corner of my eyes as shapes began to drop from above. I heard Peter screech, an inhumanly loud sound, and watched the spider spread its front legs wide, taking a defensive posture over Lexie. Then I heard soldiers screaming and shouting as a fierce battle erupted around us.

Something thumped to the ground next to me from above, and I turned to face it. A figure seemed to unfurl and loomed over me, humanoid in shape, but much taller, and I gaped at it, feeling for a moment like everything was moving in slow motion. It was thin, all wiry muscle and almost translucently pale grey flesh. It had an almost perfectly round head with no discernable eyes or nose. What it did have were long, pointed ears, even longer than those of the elves, that swept back and around the head, and a large mouth filled with rows of needle-sharp teeth. I stared at the teeth in shock, almost too distracted to see it pull its thin, elongated arms up to grab me until the sight of its many fingered hands and long sharp nails loomed into my vision, reaching for my face. Suddenly time seemed to speed up as I screamed, and felt Lyre’s arms tug me back and out of the creature’s reach as Asterollan’s new fiery blade sliced through the thing like paper, causing it to let loose a high-pitched squeal of pain.

I clapped my hands over my ears as several other Underlings squealed in response to the death cry, and looked around at the surrounding chaos. I could see that Raella had summoned a barrier over Chase and Jon, and was focusing on it as Chase focused on striking out with small blasts of fire at any of the creatures dropping from above. I could see that Greyjon and Peyton had moved to help some of the soldiers toward the forward position, both brightly glowing with their magic and using various spells as they swung their swords.

Asterollan dashed past me, and I could see that he was rushing to help the rear defense, where Zolambi had already moved to assist, glowing brightly from the magic he wielded.

Looking up I could see there were many more of the Underlings crawling across the ceiling of the tunnels, so many that they formed a writhing mass of pale flesh. The sight made my skin crawl, and without thinking I reached for my magic, hearing the faint crackle of the electricity that arced across the glow that sprung up around me.

I reached my hands up and unleashed as much lightning as I could summon, bright bolts of plasma jumping across the ceiling and arcing from body to body, causing the creatures above to stiffen and seize and scream and fall. For a moment the sounds of battle seemed to fade away as many of the dwarven soldiers on the ground stared up at the crackling display in shock and the subsequent rain of bodies. I could feel Lyre grip my shoulder tight, shouting, “No! Nothing big! You’ll bring the entire tunnel down on us!”

I gasped and released the spell and my magic, but realized the damage had already been done. The tunnels shook around us and along with the bodies of the Underlings I had killed, rocks were starting to tumble as well, and I could hear a different kind of shouting take hold as everyone and everything nearby screamed and scrambled to avoid the falling rocks and the quickly crumbling tunnel. I felt Lyre pushing me forward at a run, felt the guilt swallow me as I watched a nearby handful of dwarven soldiers crushed by a massive boulder.

Lyre stumbled somewhere behind me, shouting my name. My heart felt suddenly crushed as I turned around, trying to squint through the dust or hear his voice through the cacophony. I shouted for him, trying to stumble back toward where I had lost him, when something bright hit me. Strong arms wrapped around me and lifted me, pushing me forward just as more rocks crashed down where I had been standing.

I gasped and closed my eyes and felt myself hit the ground. The light vanished. I lay on the ground, breathing heavily, trying to organize my scattered thoughts. I could hear rocks shifting and settling, the last gasps of the cave in I had caused. I could hear shouting – distant and muffled – and the weird shrill screams of the Underlings, some not as muffled. I could hear someone else breathing heavily nearby.

I opened my eyes but found that I was in complete darkness, so I reached for my magic to light up the area I was in. I could see some dust still settling, swirling in the air. Looking around, the first person I spotted was Peyton. She leaned heavily on her sword, her hair a disheveled mess. As the glow from my magic lit up the area, she shifted forward and leaned down next to another figure – Captain Kaphryn, who was groaning as she shifted herself into a sitting position. Then Peyton dropped down next to another figure – Greyjon, I realized after a moment.

I glanced behind me at the rocks that blocked the tunnels where we had been standing moments before, and spotted a mess of familiar golden curls. I stumbled over to Asterollan’s prone form and realized he was half buried and unconscious, with blood dripping down his face. I started to frantically work on pulling the rocks off him, tossing them to the side. I don’t know how long I worked, but I felt myself getting sweaty, and could feel hot tears streaking down my face. This had all been my fault. We were underground. I should have realized… I tried to push thoughts of Lyre out of my head as I worked to free Asterollan.

Kaphryn and Peyton joined me after a few moments, also working to shift the rocks. When we had him freed enough, Peyton gripped his shoulders and pulled him free. I fell to my knees, clapped my hands on either side of his face, and lit up like a beacon, pouring as much of my power into healing him as I could as I whispered his name over and over.

For a frighteningly long moment there didn’t seem to be any change. And then a slight frown creased his brow and he groaned, and I collapsed onto his chest, sobbing. Asterollan sat up and wrapped his arms around me.

I looked up at Peyton. “Greyjon?” I asked, not really wanting to voice the rest of the sentence.

She stared back at me, and very briefly shook her head.

I gaped at her, and avoided looking over at where his body lay. “This is all my fault,” I gasped after a moment, feeling sick to my stomach.

“It is,” she said simply.

I pulled away from Asterollan, feeling awful. I hadn’t really expected to be reassured, but hearing confirmation of my guilt felt a stab to the heart. I closed my eyes and took three deep breaths. As I did, I heard her grunt and fall forward.

I opened my eyes in time to see several pale, thin humanoid figures approaching us. One of them was holding a hand up, a strange tendril of light and shadow flowing between a crystal it held and Peyton, who had fallen forward on her knees. She looked strained, and as she lifted her head I watched as a dark spot formed on her forehead and spread across her face.

Asterollan was standing, reaching for his magic as he shouted, “She’s being tethered!”

Gasping, I started to stand, but a strange sensation gripped me, causing me to fall forward onto my hands and knees. I could hear Asterollan and Kaphryn also crying out and shouting. It felt sudden and sharp and focused in my chest, like a sudden thump, like a large bird had gone hurtling straight into my chest at full speed. And then I felt a burning sensation spread across the skin of my forehead and I screamed.

When the pain died down, I opened my eyes to find complete darkness. I could hear Peyton and Asterollan gasping nearby, and Kaphryn groaning and struggling, and the sounds of footsteps all around us. I attempted to reach for my magic so that I could have light, but nothing happened. I could still sense my power, but it was like I couldn’t reach it.

Something began to glow very nearby. Almost like a torch, but it was a light bioluminescent blue-green, and very dim – but by that very pale light, I could see the wide toothy smiles of the Underlings that had captured us.

I had never considered myself the sort of person to faint in terror before that moment. But everything – my terror, my panic, my guilt and sadness – became so overwhelming that I felt like I was going to have an actual heart attack. My senses shut down, I felt my vision blur, and felt the world fade away.

42. Lucas

On By MaryIn 2023, WritingLeave a comment

Raella was upset when she heard about how each of us had met with our gods. She seemed to take it personally, as though she should have been invited to join us when we communed with them. Which would have been impossible since it all happened in separate rooms at the same time, but that didn’t stop her anger. She sat us all down and interviewed us on our interactions, taking copious notes and asking a million questions, especially needling us to remember the details exactly as we experienced them.

It was interesting to hear about each of their experiences. T’Keran had greeted Cassandra in total darkness, allowing the full power of a thunderstorm to build and crash around her, whereas Cenastrum had greeted Asterollan in a plane of bright blinding light, with an overwhelming voice that had reverberated in the very air around him. T’Keran had explained Shadawn’s powers to Cassandra and had insisted that they break the seal and destroy him. Cenastrum had done much the same, and gifted Asterollan with the sword I had seen him pointing at Peyton. At Raella’s request, he summoned and dismissed it several times, something that he could manage without grasping for his magic. 

Myrapen was the only other god that had mentioned giving all of their powers and diminishing, and I wondered if that meant that Cenastrum and T’Keran actually reserved some power for themselves. Lexie’s interview was shortest – she had stepped into a plane of fire and Myrapen had greeted her and given her the last vestiges of her power, stating that she kept nothing to maintain her. She asked the girl to relight the eternal flame on the island we had visited once we were done destroying Shadawn.

Only my god had revealed their origins as beings from another world that had ascended to godhood. As I described everything that I saw and had learned, Raella made little gasps of excitement and scribbled furiously in her notes. It was very distracting, but also kind of amusing to watch.

She was also upset to know that Peyton had kept her dreams of Shadawn a secret, though her excitement over everything else she learned far outweighed her anger about that. “I wish you had told me,” she kept repeating. “Perhaps we could have worked out a way to block his influence. And you’ve just lived with your magic being blocked this whole time!” 

Peyton sat, frowning at the ground, looking sufficiently chastised. After a moment, Raella added, “I am impressed that you’ve been turning him down this entire time though. Tell me about these dreams.” It had started as a voice, Peyton explained, back when we were still at the University, but sometime after we left and before we had reached the canyons, she had started to see him in her dreams. He had approached her, impressed with her strengths and abilities, and tried to convince her to be his first Chosen. 

“At first I had hoped that I could somehow learn more about him by pretending to be interested. That was about the time that my magic became inaccessible.” 

Raella nodded. “Cenastrum must have been observing the entire time. So he did have reason to believe you might join Shadawn’s cause.”

Peyton nodded and sighed. “To an outside observer, yes. It would have looked like I was ready to work with him. And in the end, I didn’t even learn that much about him. I didn’t even know his name until I heard Asterollan shouting it at me.”

“Well, we cannot change the past. But perhaps we can appeal to Cenastrum to lift the block. We need you at your full power.” Raella frowned, shuffling the notes she had been taking. “We’ll need everyone at their best if we’re really going to fight Shadawn.”

“So you’re not against us breaking the seal?” I asked.

“It isn’t the wisest plan,” she noted. “After all, what happens if Shadawn kills one of you in battle before we perform the seal? We need four graces for the seal to work.”

“Do we though? I mean, if the gods have pumped so much divine energy into us, maybe three will be enough,” I argued. She sighed, not looking entirely convinced. “I don’t want to die. I don’t want Peyton to die. I don’t want Lexie to die.”

“What about me?” Cassandra groused from where she was sitting on her bedroll, listening in to everything as well.

“Right, not you too. Nor, strangely, the backup battery.” Cassandra raised an eyebrow at my comment and glanced over at Asterollan, who had taken to brooding in a corner since our confrontation in the front hall. “I want to be able to survive this. I want to fight so that we can live.”

Raella sighed again. “There is also the matter of the rest of us here. We can go and help you fight Shadawn, but I don’t think we’re as powerful as any of you now, and if one of us dies, we also lose the ability to seal Shadawn. After all, we’re the ones that cast the spell.”

I frowned, crossing my arms as I considered that. “Could we learn this spell and cast it on ourselves? Or does someone else have to cast the spell at us?”

Raella narrowed her eyes, bringing her finger up to her chin as she considered that. “That may be an option.” She glanced over at where Chase and Jon were working at cataloguing some of the tomes they were finding. “I will admit that I am reluctant to bring one of the University’s finest young minds into a deadly battle.” After a moment she gave a brief nod as though her mind were made up. “I will put my mind to this and find a way for you to cast the spell yourself. It is better to have multiple contingencies in place, after all, if we are to do this.”

I was a little surprised that she was willing to even give us the chance to fight. I was almost certain that she would shoot the idea down immediately. “Thank you, Raella,” I said. 

“Yes, well,” she said, her tone slightly huffy as she looked embarrassed by my sincerity. “We should all get some rest. We’ve still got to get to the seal. It’s at least two more days of travel, maybe three depending on how much pushback we get from these Underlings everyone fears.”

I nodded and settled in for the evening, but couldn’t sleep. I was comfortable enough with Peter nestled in beside me, but the memory of the verdant jungle stayed with me. Meeting my god face to face and all the information that had been thrown at us during and after kept my mind buzzing. Because of that, I heard Peyton when she rose and ventured out into the front hall. I sat up, staring after her, and heard Peter trill a soft query at my movement. Then I stood to follow her. I stopped just inside the partially closed doorway and watched her stare up at the statue of Gno as though she were in a trance.

As I watched, the All Seeing Eye blinked like it was no longer made of stone, and I found myself gripping the edge of the door tight in my hands.

“I heard you calling,” Peyton said, her voice soft.

“I know the truth in your heart,” a voice whispered back – it sounded like the rustling of dry paper, and it was hard to pinpoint exactly where it came from. I shivered. The cloak of the statue seemed to shift, as though brushed by a breeze. “Cenastrum shows no pity and no remorse, but I know that truth is not simple, not a matter of black and white justice. I would not punish a curious mind.”

Peyton was silent for a long moment, staring into the eye as it blinked again. She seemed a lot calmer than I would have felt staring into the thing. “Were the Wryseans working for Shadawn? Because he never mentioned them,” she said. “Or was it an actual god, wanting freedom?” 

“It was Holtrin,” the voice whispered. “He is not pleased to have been locked away for so long. Few of us are. We long to touch the world, to shape it again, to watch…”

Peyton shook her head, her long coppery hair glinting in the dim light. “Wouldn’t killing us release Shadawn and allow him to destroy everything?”

“There are those of us that believe Shadawn is an imposter that will be easily disposed of.”

“And what do you think?”

“I think we have not learned from history. Few do, even amongst gods.” The eye narrowed and seemed to drift down closer to Peyton, studying her. “I will remove the blocks that Cenastrum has placed on you. I grant you my power, and I grant you my gifts. You will act as my Chosen.”

Peyton stared into the eye, unflinching, and once again I found myself respecting her resolve. “What gifts will you grant me?”

“Knowledge,” the voice whispered, drawing out the word. “The being known as Lucas Kearney will strike the death blow. He has been granted that ability. But he can only do it once, and the timing must be perfect. You will know when the time is right. You will guide him.” 

“Lucas?” Peyton said. For a moment I shifted uneasily thinking she had seen me, but I realized she was only responding to Gno’s statement. 

“As my Chosen, you must learn to master thought, for all thoughts will flow to you. Clear your mind, and compose yourself. You have a short deadline for mastery. But I will put my trust in you, and grant you my power.” Peyton lit up suddenly, grasping at the magic she hadn’t been able to touch since Cenastrum had blocked her abilities. The light around her didn’t look significantly different, beyond being a little more sepia toned. 

In a blink, the eye was back in place above the book, and the statue’s robes were still again. It was silent. And then Peyton said, “Lucas?” again, and turned to stare directly at me. I was startled, seeing that her eyes glowed vividly in a bright purplish hue – and a third glowing eye appeared, hovering immediately in front of her forehead – the All Seeing Eye. She dropped her magic, and the eerie glow of her eyes dropped, and the floating eye disappeared as well.

I stepped out from behind the door, nervously running a hand through my hair. “Sorry, I saw you get up and…” I mumbled, starting to explain. But Peyton was staring at me hard, her eyes wide in shock.

“I can hear your thoughts,” she said softly. 

“Oh?” I paused for a moment, and realized that aligned pretty well with what Gno had said he would gift to her. Don’t think about how beautiful she is! my mind screamed at me, but it screamed it pretty loud and clear and I knew instantly that she heard from the faint flush that rose along her cheeks and the slightly amused smile that pulled at her lips. “Well, fuck,” I said, and turned around to go back to bed. Peter trilled happily as I settled back into my bedroll.

Having decided there was no need to keep secrets anymore, Peyton told Raella what had happened immediately upon waking the next morning. Raella seemed frustrated to have missed something that she may have been able to easily witness, and set about interviewing both Peyton and me about what had happened in the night. We also tested the limits of Peyton’s mind reading abilities – apparently the ability was omnipresent, like Asterollan’s truth compulsion, but not deep. “It seems to have a range,” she said thoughtfully. “I can’t really hear what the soldiers out front are thinking. And it’s nothing too invasive. It seems to be surface level thoughts.” She frowned, glancing around at us. “Some of the thoughts are in your own voices, but other thoughts… like whoever has Axel F stuck in their head right now…”

“Oh. Sorry,” Lexie said, grinning sheepishly.

“What is Axel F?” Raella asked, frowning at the two of them.

“It’s a really catchy song,” Lexie said.

Peyton grinned and nodded. “It is pretty good.”

Raella set about teaching us the modified sealing spell as well, though she insisted that we do it without reaching for our magic. Even without any true power behind it, I could feel something like a strange pull, as though something inside of myself was made of metal and something outside of myself was a powerful magnet. The sensation gave me a headache, and I felt slightly nauseous. Then I got to sit and watch the others learn the spell, and could figure out the moment that they mastered it when their faces paled and they rubbed at their temples. 

Watching Lexie practice made me feel a bit sick to my stomach. I glanced around and found Asterollan, who was sitting further back from the group, and tapped him on the shoulder awkwardly. “Could I talk to you in private for a bit?”

He raised an eyebrow at me, but nodded and followed as I pulled him back behind some shelves out of sight. “What is it?” he asked as I nervously shifted my weight from foot to foot, unsure of how to voice my concern.

“You can’t just be a backup battery,” I finally said. He was much shorter than me, and in the cramped space behind the shelves I felt like I was unnecessarily towering over him. I hunched my shoulders as I spoke, not wanting to seem like a bully, although in all likelihood he was a lot more capable of kicking my ass despite the height difference. “Lexie can’t die. She’s just a kid. If this all goes sideways and we have to sacrifice ourselves… it just shouldn’t be her.”

Asterollan gave me an appraising look and nodded. “You’re right.” I had expected a little more pushback, and he must have read the surprise in my face, because he suddenly looked annoyed. “Do you really think I’m so dishonorable I’d say that a child must die?”

“I mean… maybe?” 

Asterollan gave me a flat stare, his lips thinning slightly in a grimace. “I will do the right thing, Lucas. You needn’t have asked.” I nodded as he walked away, feeling a bit awkward but also relieved. At least Lexie would be safe. Stepping out from behind the shelves, I could see Peyton smiling at me, and flushed, feeling a little annoyed that there couldn’t be secrets around her. A strange series of emotions flickered across her face before she flushed deeply and looked somewhat sheepish, and avoided making eye contact the rest of the morning. It left me feeling a little bad, like somehow it was all my fault. I focused on keeping Axel F running through my head instead.

Late in the afternoon, after we were sure we had all mastered the sealing spell and after Raella had compiled all the notes she could wish, we prepared to leave. Raella, Jon and Chase packed up several crates of books that were in good enough shape to transport and set them in the front hallway, and Raella also stored all the notes she had taken at the temple in with them. Their plan was to improvise a cart of some sort to haul them back on the return trip. There was something kind of compelling about the idea – the idea of returning. We’d only be coming back if we survived. And to do that we had to destroy a wannabe god. And when we did return, what would our lives be then? 

With no way to return home, we’d have to build new lives in this world. Find out how we wanted to live, and what we wanted to do. I knew that my first course of action would be traveling far to the north and finding the heart tree that my god had told me about. I had a promise to fulfill there. But what would I do then? I wondered if I would continue the course of my life – Lucas Kearney, accountant in a fantasy land. Certainly someone needed a treasurer or bookkeeper. Or maybe I would try do something completely different with my life. Learn to do something else. Learn to be someone else.

As we started walking away from the temple of the god of knowledge, I glanced back and could just barely see the crates inside the door, waiting for us to return. I promised myself I’d read one of those books when I got back.

As I turned to face the path ahead, I caught sight of Peyton flashing a knowing grin at me, and I flushed deeply and focused on clearing my mind again.

40. Cassandra

On By MaryIn 2023, WritingLeave a comment

The next day we woke early to meet with Raella and the others. Raella had questioned the prisoners early in the morning but got no further answers from them, and instead spent most of the day closely attached to Jon Umberling, asking him copious questions about the temple he had found and the information he had uncovered there. The dwarves were in the process of looking for volunteers to go with us on our expedition underground. The danger was great enough that the King wasn’t comfortable ordering soldiers to accompany us. The previous expedition had consisted of a team of scholars, some from the local university and others employed by the royal court, like Jon. They had ventured underground with a team of soldiers to guard them from the dangers there.

Only half the scholars and a handful of the soldiers had returned.

“They’re called Underlings,” Jon said with a shudder.

Greyjon had nodded, his expression grim. “I’ve heard of them. There are some places in the Empire where we can access the subterranean places of this world. We’ve never ventured far – the conventional wisdom when we find such places is to block the exits and place guards to watch them.”

“Underdark,” Peyton said, glancing at Lucas, who nodded as though he understood what she meant perfectly. I raised an eyebrow at their interaction. “What kind of people are these Underlings?”

“People is a stretch, though they are humanoid. We don’t know much about them. They may very well be richly cultured and intelligent, but we’ve never been able to approach them. Any attempts to travel into their domain is met with instant hostility,” Jon explained.

“In the past, the Empire had managed to build and defend a passage directly to the seal. That has likely been swarmed by the Underlings,” Raella said. “I understand promises were made that the passages would be reopened for our return.”

Jon nodded, but grimaced as he spoke. “We haven’t made much progress. For one, our alliance has not been long, and the timeline to achieve such a matter has been… short. Our expedition was mostly intended to be reconnaissance. And so few of us returned… We can make our way safely to the underground temple, but past that will be dangerous. I think our hopes lie in the power of your magical abilities, and perhaps the protection of the gods.”

Raella nodded thoughtfully. “It’s not ideal, but we’ll make it work. I will need all the information you do have on these Underlings and as much as you know about our passage underground.” Peyton and Asterollan stayed with Raella, Greyjon and Zolambi as these matters were discussed, as interested in hearing all the details as they could manage to absorb and to help with strategy.

The rest of us found other ways to pass the time. Chase seemed focused on keeping Lexie preoccupied exploring the Dwarven palace and the surrounding city – they visited several places, trying as many different foods as they could manage, and Lexie cheerfully described everything that evening when she was eating with us. I wasn’t sure what had happened to her in the gardens, or if she was completely okay, but she seemed in better spirits at least.

Lyre and I went to visit the palace gardens to see what they looked like in the light of day. They were quite lovely despite the damage we had caused there and despite it being quite late in the autumn. When we stepped out, we could see Lucas glowing brightly, using his abilities to grow the hedges in the maze and close the circles that Asterollan had blasted through them. An entire troupe of gardeners and palace servants were gathered around, applauding his handiwork. I watched in fascination.  When he was done, he took a seat on a bench, and I went to join him, Lyre trailing along behind me. “That was very helpful of you,” I said.

Lucas shrugged. “It’s the one thing I do. Plants.”

“Plants,” I repeated, amused. He still glowed with the power he continued to grasp, and I watched as some of the nearby plants brightened and bloomed. He didn’t even seem to realize what he was causing.

We were afforded another night of rest in our nice plush rooms. Peyton spent the evening in the stables with her horse – she was quite attached, and we couldn’t bring them underground with us. Lying in bed, the realization that we were going to be traveling underground really hit me and I felt grateful that Lyre and I had spent our day in the gardens. We’d soon be traveling where there was no sunlight and fresh air.

The next day, we were escorted to the nearest mines that led into the mountain, and personally attended by the Dwarven king himself. There was a short ceremony, during which the king lauded the bravery of the soldiers present, all volunteers, a group of 25 brave men and women who were willing to follow us deeper underground than anyone from the surface had been in many hundreds of years. We were also traveling with Jon Umberling, which I found surprising – I hadn’t considered the messy haired bespectacled scholar as a brave man, but this was his second trip into this danger, after the first one hadn’t gone well. I found myself reassessing him a little.

I glanced up at the sky one last time before entering the mines. And then I forced myself not to look back.

We were in the active Dwarven mines for most of that day, and on occasion passed dwarves who were in the process of working to extract some sort of silvery ore I could sometimes spot in the rocks. Everyone was quite relaxed through this part of the journey, as we were in known territory – some of the soldiers even lingered behind to chat with miners they recognized. When we reached the end of the mining shafts, we came to a massive wooden door that blocked the cavern – guards were posted there. The door was so heavy that it required a mechanism to open, and the guards were reluctant to do so until every lingering soldier had caught up. They didn’t want to leave the gate open longer than it had to be, and their nervousness was somewhat infectious. When we did finally pass through, the sound of the massive door shutting behind us seemed to echo with a grim finality.

Half of the soldiers traveled ahead to scout out danger and the other half trailed behind with our supplies – they were intent on keeping us in the middle, where we could be guarded. We carried magical lanterns that held glowing stones to provide light, though sometimes we came across patches of bioluminescent moss that helped light the way as well. Sometimes we came across chambers, and other passages that veered into different directions, but the dwarves all seemed to know the path we should take.

When it was time to camp for the night, we stopped in a narrow passage where any attack would be forced to come from one side or the other. “We should reach the temple by evening tomorrow and be able to take shelter there. It is relatively safe up until the temple, but we should remain alert. Our last excursion was chased nearly back to the mines before the Underlings gave up on us,” Jon Umberling explained, the lens of his glasses flashing in the lights we had. The passages were spacious enough, but I somehow still felt cramped in. I had never considered myself claustrophobic, but I also didn’t spend copious amounts of time in still, dark places underground. It was stifling, and I found myself clutching Lyre’s hand or leaning into him.

The next morning we gathered together and continued on through the passages in the same way we had the previous day. The soldiers were quiet and intent on their duty, grim faced and tense. I found it disturbing, a testament to the danger we could possibly be facing. Most of the rest of us were lost in our own thoughts. It would have been oppressively quiet if it weren’t for Jon’s presence – he was quite happy to chatter away at any question that was asked, and was especially excited to volunteer information that he had learned from his previous trip. “The god of truth and justice shares a name with the star at the center of our galaxy – Cenastrum – or perhaps we named the star after him. It makes one wonder what other things we linguistically centered around the gods, keeping their names safe even as we forgot about them,” Jon was enthusiastically saying to Asterollan. “Still, his symbol is the sun rather than a star. The star symbol is mostly reserved for Sateen, The Morning Star, god of ambition and gold.”

“How many gods are there?” Peyton asked curiously. Even though Raella must have already quizzed Jon on the subject extensively, she still listened intently, her yellow eyes gleaming in the low light.

“Nine gods in all. Besides Cenastrum and Sateen, there is also Myrapen – your goddess, Miss Saint, the Eternal Flame. Gno, the All Knowing; Holtrin, The Ever Changing; Udacha, our Lady of Luck; T’Keran, the Storm; and Koz, the blood god. And then there is the one that I’ve heard blesses you,” Jon tilted his head over at Lucas. “Strangely, or perhaps not very strangely at all, Nature has no name or grand title.”

 I shifted uncomfortably as he said T’Keran’s name, and could swear that I almost felt a soft breeze, even this deep within the underground cavern. I couldn’t decide if I was reassured or spooked. “I don’t suppose you found out the name of the being we’re facing?” I asked.

Jon frowned and shook his head. “I didn’t, unfortunately. But there was a lot of information that we didn’t get through. So much more to study. The temple held a massive library and seemed to be primarily devoted to Gno, but there were rooms with altars devoted to each of the deities. You may all be able to individually commune with your gods there.”

Peyton looked lost in thought as she considered that. We continued with Jon rambling about the different domains and natures of the gods. I was just getting tired of walking when the passage opened into a massive cavern. As we stepped out with our escorts, we found ourselves staring down into a stone ruin. I had expected absolute darkness, but something within the cavern seemed to glow faintly, providing enough visibility to make out the structures within. While many of the smaller buildings that had made up the area had crumbled and given way to time, the larger building of the temple itself still stood tall. A statue of an immense robed figure stood at the gate, its head tilted over a book. The face of the figure was obscured, in part by the low hood but also in part by the giant stone eye that covered the opening of the hood. I realized the eye was providing the light in the cavern.

As we approached, I could see the iris was faceted and glittered faintly. It was some sort of opaque deep red gemstone that reminded me of especially shiny red obsidian. “Well, the Underlings aren’t present, I believe,” Jon said quietly, sounding nervous for the first time. He chuckled lightly. “We’ll make camp inside the temple.”

As we entered, I spotted another statue like the one out front, but smaller – it was situated on the far side of the hallway from us. There were eight doors on one side of the hall, which I realized must lead to the altars that Jon spoke of. On the other side was a massive set of double doors that had been left open previously, through which I could see the remnants of an old library.

Most of the soldiers set up camp in the front hallway and just outside the front doors. Greyjon and Zolambi joined them to provide some magical defenses. Greyjon was probably more at home with the soldiers anyway. Meanwhile, the rest of our party set up camp in the old library. I could see the rotted remains of wooden tables, and wondered how old they were. Had they been well maintained when this temple was a stopping point for the Graces in the past? Or had this library just been allowed to rot for 5000 years?

Some of the books were in remarkably good condition, and I wondered if perhaps there was some magic at work in preserving them. Jon began to lead Raella through the library, and they poked through the more well-preserved tomes, handling them with near reverence. Chase followed, looking mildly intrigued. I was under the impression that they were choosing what books they needed to take back to the surface on their return trip.

Once we were settled in, Lexie wordlessly went to go investigate the doors across the hall. Lyre and I followed her, and the others trailed after us. We stood together in a loose line, surveying the doors, which each had colorful symbols arrayed on them. The symbols were vibrant and held a faint shimmer to them that reminded me of the tether tattoos the elven slaves wore. I recognized the sword in front of the starburst that belonged to Asterollan’s god. And I stared at the lightning bolt in front of the storm cloud, knowing instantly that it belonged to T’Keran.

There was also the flame of Myrapen, and what looked like a pentacle of shimmering gold with a solid black star at its center, and a chalice set in front of crossed axes, and even some more abstract symbols of lines, circles, and squares. Lucas was staring, frowning hard at the door that must have belonged to his god. There was the image of a humanoid skull on it, with flowers vining and blooming over the skull. I frowned, wondering why a nature god would have such a strong image of death as part of her symbol.

The air felt strangely heavy in that moment as we all silently stared at the doors. As if compelled, we moved forward, almost all at the same time. I remember hearing Lyre softly call my name as I stepped away from him, pulling me out of my trance just long enough that I glanced over to see Lexie and Asterollan already passing through their doors, and Lucas just barely hesitating as he pushed his open. I turned to smile reassuringly at Lyre as I pushed the door with the lightning bolt open.

And just before I passed through, I remembered seeing Peyton standing back, looking slightly stricken. And I realized suddenly that she was the one that was dreaming of the god ascendant.

But the compulsion that drove me was too strong, and I stepped through my door.

I had expected a small room, hewn from stone, with an altar and a statue of T’Keran, but I entered absolute stillness. I took several steps forward before I realized just how unnaturally still it was. My breathing sounded too loud in this absence of sound. I saw a distant flash of light and heard and felt the faint rumble of thunder. It was eerily like the calm before a violent storm – I could smell the rain, and feel the humidity thick in the air and heavy in my lungs. The flashes of lightning began to quicken, lighting the darkness around me.

A violent wind swept through and I could hear rain falling, though I didn’t feel any moisture. During a particular bright flash of lightning, I saw the looming form of T’Keran standing before me, her hair shifting in the wind, and felt my breath hitch in my throat. I reached for my magic, and in the soft glow of my power I could see T’Keran, her arms spread as she reveled in the feel of the storm that raged around her.

As I watched, her figure shrunk, until she was a woman roughly of Peyton’s height. She stepped forward, staring at me impassively. I struggled for a moment, trying to figure out what to say or do, before stammering, “Why did you choose me?”

The corner of one of her lips quirked up in a faint smile. “You are different than the others that were summoned. There is a certain degree of chaos to your presence,” she studied me intently, but before I could ask about how I was different, she continued, “And you fell into my corner of the sea. That seemed as good a reason as any.”

I remembered the cursed stretch of sea that I had fallen into, how the sailors had seemed spooked by it. I also remembered what they had said about it. “They said it was cursed because there was no wind or current there. That doesn’t seem very much like you,” I pointed out.

“It’s been calm because we’ve been absent. It will rage once I am free.” There was an almost menacing promise to her words that made me shiver.

“Once you’re free? What do you mean?” For a moment, my mind reeled, grasping at all the possibilities behind her words. And then she explained everything.

38. Cassandra

On By MaryIn 2023, WritingLeave a comment

“Run!” Asterollan shouted, and I grabbed Lyre’s hand and ran straight toward the maze. I could hear Asterollan shout something after us, but couldn’t make out what he said. We ran through the darkened hedges at a breakneck pace making several turns before we hit our first dead end. It was here that we paused, attempting to quiet our gasps for breath as we listened for any pursuit.

It was strangely quiet in the maze. Almost too unnaturally quiet. Lyre frowned, the glow surrounding him – he lifted a hand up to the sky, chanting quietly to himself in the elven language. I watched curiously as something in the air above the hedges seemed to glow in response to his gesture, some sort of normally invisible barrier that just barely pushed out like a bubble against his magic. “The maze has been enchanted,” he murmured, his voice barely loud enough for me to hear. “With a barrier of some sort.”

“To do what?” I whispered back, stepping closer to him.

“Some sort of obfuscation.” He was frowning as he allowed the spell to drop. No longer strained against, the barrier disappeared from sight, becoming invisible once more.

“Obfuscating what?” I asked.

“Not entirely sure, but it is muffling sound in the maze. Maybe making it harder to get out once we enter. Or harder to get further in.”

I felt myself go cold as I considered what that could mean. “Have we walked into a trap?” I asked.

“Possibly?” He stared absently for a moment, seeming to consider that, before looking over at me. His expression softened. “Nobody seems to be coming for us though.” I nodded. He was still holding my hand tightly, and gave a squeeze to reassure me. “Remember. I’ll protect you.” I nodded again but said nothing. If they were trying to keep us out, how had we entered the maze in the first place? We backtracked a little, but when we came to the first intersection we paused. “Do we want to try to leave, or to get further in?” Lyre asked.

I frowned, staring up at what I could see of the night sky above the tops of the hedges. “If no one has come for us yet, it might not be a trap. Maybe that king is somewhere further in the maze. Maybe they were trying to keep us out to protect him.”

“And he’d be well protected beyond the maze’s barrier,” Lyre pointed out. I nodded. Sensing my resolution, Lyre sighed. “Okay, let’s try to get through this thing.” We took the opposite path, going further into the maze.

The eerie silence was unsettling. I worried about what was happening to the others – how many soldiers had gone running after them? Would they be okay? I was completely lost in thought as I led the way through the maze, still tightly clutching Lyre’s hand in my own. “How are you doing this?” Lyre asked after a while. I turned to look at him, blinking in confusion. “We haven’t run into a dead end yet. It’s almost like you know where to go.”

I paused and considered that. I realized that in a strange way, I had made every turn with conviction. There hadn’t even been a second thought about running into the maze in the first place. Deep down, I suddenly understood why – I could feel T’Keran’s presence and it guided me voicelessly along my path – the air was alive with something that felt like the energy of a storm, and I could feel the mild prickle of static along the hair of my arms. Feeling a little unnerved at that realization, I shrugged. “I… I don’t know,” I told Lyre. He raised an eyebrow, but said nothing in response, and allowed me to continue leading the way.

Soon, I could hear the clinking of armor ahead and the sounds of voices. We slowed as we crept closer. If someone came towards us, it would be impossible to hide, but we had come this far and there wasn’t any turning back. I could hear a voice saying, “They’re making their way into the hedge maze, your Majesty. Not only that, but the barrier at the palace has dropped and they have captured Yasmin.” Chancing a glance around the corner, I could see that the maze opened out into a wide area with a fountain at its center. The silver-haired elf from the ballroom was holding a mirror, through which I could see the image of the man speaking. The king was staring into the mirror thoughtfully, a hand to his chin.

“Then we’ve failed,” he said. His words hung heavily in silence for several moments. I could see the pained expression of the man on the other side of the mirror. “I will leave first. Stay, and make sure none follow. If you find a chance to complete our mission, then do so. But once I am securely on the ship, make haste to retreat. There is no point in more of us dying now. We have failed a god, but perhaps the renewed seal will save us from its wrath.”

The man nodded as the image on the mirror disappeared, replaced with the king’s reflection. He looked troubled. He started to turn to give orders to those present – a small handful of soldiers and the elven mage. I ducked back behind the hedges to stay out of sight. He was telling the mage to stay put, and ordered the soldiers to follow him. I pressed against the wall of the hedge, and pulled Lyre back toward the nearest corner to remain out of sight – it sounded like they were getting closer. As I had guessed, I heard them enter the maze where I had been spying on them moments before.

I peeked around the edge and watched what corner they turned ahead of us. Dropping Lyre’s hand, I hurried forward to peek around that corner, just in time to see the next way they went. I could hear Lyre following behind, but mostly just hoped that he would keep up, because I was too worried about missing the direction they were taking. A few times, I had to guess by sound which way they had gone. As I realized they’d find the exit soon, a strange panic began to engulf me. What was I doing? Should I attack? Should I call out to them so I could speak to them? Throwing caution to the wind, I dashed around the next corner while they were still in sight, and shouted, “Wait!”

The king and the three soldiers with him turned, all looking surprised to see me. “That’s one of the Graces!” one of the soldiers shouted.

“Kill her!” the King commanded. “We might complete our mission yet!”

Well, shit, I chose poorly. Still, it did answer exactly what they were trying to do – they were trying to kill the Graces. I turned on my heel to run and practically smashed my head into Lyre so hard that I saw stars for a moment. “What?” Lyre groaned in confusion, grasping his head.

Hearing the approach of the metal armor, I blindly swept my hand up, feeling the surge of lightning release from my fingers and blast down the narrow path created by the hedges. I heard the screams of the men, and when I turned to look, still rubbing my own head, I could see that they had been electrocuted and the king had disappeared. Apparently electricity and metal armor was not a fun combination.

“The king got away,” I grumbled.

Lyre sighed. “We should go back and make sure the others are okay. It sounded like there were more soldiers.” Nodding, I led the way back through the maze. It wasn’t long before we heard the sounds of shouting and fighting from ahead. It sounded like it was coming from the spacious courtyard at the center of the maze.

I could hear Lexie shout, “I! Can’t! Catch!” just as I stepped out of the maze. The scene unfolded before me almost like it was in slow motion as I took in all the details. On the other side of the space, I could hear men crying out as the branches of the hedge grew out to engulf them, and I could see Lucas glowing, staring at them in concentration. I could see Peyton turn toward us, her eyes wide with surprise. I could see Lexie, with her hands outstretched, and the silver haired mage in front of her, diving forward bodily, her fingers clutching at what must have been her Focus. She glowed as she reached for her magic, and began to chant, her voice taking on the eerie echoey cadence of whatever spell she was preparing to cast.

Asterollan, only a few steps behind the mage, glowed suddenly, his eyes lighting up like beacons – he swung the sword he held in his hand in a downward motion, and a wave of light sliced through the air with his movement, straight into the mage in front of him, an extended blade of white light.

“Wait!” I cried out, waving my hand in an upward motion against Asterollan’s blade of light. I didn’t catch it in time – she cried out in pain as it began to slice into her. But I did keep it from slicing her in two, which I suspected it would have done. Asterollan’s glow dropped, and he turned to frown at me. Lyre rushed forward and grabbed the Focus from her fingers. She was whimpering and had already dropped her hold on magic. I met Asterollan’s unfeeling gaze and shuddered. “Maybe she has information,” I said to him.

He nodded, not questioning my judgment at least. His eyes flitted over me quickly, seeming to assess me, and when he was satisfied, he turned back toward a gaping hole in the hedge. “We should return to the castle,” he said, walking off without waiting to see if we followed. Lexie followed behind him quickly – she looked ashen and shaken and ready to be done with the night.

Lucas stepped forward, casting a healing spell on the mage. He flipped her onto her back, and she swung up at him with her hands, attempting to claw at his face. Lucas cried out and fell back as she did so, caught off guard. Peyton stepped forward, grabbing the other woman by one arm and hauling her up forcibly onto her feet, then twisted her arm deftly behind her back and pushed until the silver haired woman grimaced and gasped in pain. “Come quietly, or I break your arm. Then he heals it, and I break it again,” Peyton said, her voice a soft growl. The silver haired woman’s eyes rolled in terror, taking in her situation, and she gave a brief nod. Peyton grabbed her shoulder and pushed her ahead, following Lexie and Asterollan out of the maze.

Lucas stood up, brushing his pants off as he did so. He nodded to Lyre and me briefly, then wordlessly followed Peyton. This time, Lyre took my hand and led me from the maze. I noticed that Peyton’s hair was disheveled and her dress was nearly in tatters – she was wearing Lucas’s jacket. I hurried just enough to catch up with Lucas. “What happened to you guys?” I asked quietly.

“Got cornered in a cave,” he said simply, not offering any more explanation – very typically Lucas. I sighed.

We met Zolambi and Greyjon at the improvised maze exit, both glowing brightly with magic, surrounded by dwarven guards. Zolambi walked up, glaring suspiciously at Asterollan, before turning his attention to the rest of us. “I’m glad to see you’re all okay,” he said. “We have another slave mage captured at the palace. Raella is interviewing her now, but she seems reluctant to speak.”

“Some slaves are treated better than others, and have a degree of loyalty to their masters. Especially these two… I’ve heard they’re given a lot of personal freedom by the king.” Lyre spoke quietly, just loud enough to answer my question, but he was apparently heard by the silver haired woman, who glared daggers at him and turned her nose up into the air. I studied the tattoos on her face curiously – looping tendrils of tentacles that surrounded her right eye and extended up into her hairline and down along her neck. She was dressed nicer than Lyre and the others had been, and her hair was longer and had been carefully styled. She even seemed to be wearing makeup, now that I was really looking at her. I wondered how pampered her life had been compared to any other slave in the human lands.

As we passed the first soldier that had attacked us, Asterollan tossed the sword he held onto the body. We were escorted back to the castle and through the now empty ball room. The dwarven soldiers led us out through a set of doors underneath where we had initially entered, and down a lushly decorated hallway. I had the sense we were on the side of the castle that was built into the stones of the mountain. There was something about the walls and the space that felt dense in a way. The soldiers stopped outside one door near the end of the hall, and Zolambi swept into the room without hesitation, the rest of us following him.

It was a spacious meeting room of some sort, with a long table and chairs set around it. At the other end of the room, the dwarven king paced, his arms crossed behind his back. Raella and Chase turned to look up at us as we entered – they were standing in front of a chair, where another elven woman with a face tattoo was sitting. Hers was a solid block shaped like a flaming heart, with waves of flame continuing under her black hair and down her neck. Zolambi and Greyjon walked over to join them, as did Asterollan. Lucas walked halfway down the room, but then pulled out a chair and lounged in it. It was made for a dwarf, and it looked child sized and uncomfortable for him. He looked like he regretted it instantly, but was committed at that point. Peyton pushed her prisoner over, and another chair was provided for the silver haired woman, so that she was seated across from her fellow slave.

Chase, glancing over at the rest of us, looked suddenly very concerned. She stepped over to Lexie and placed her hands on her shoulder. “You look awful, Lexie! You’re shivering! Let’s go get you cleaned up.” She glanced up at the rest of us. “All of you should come with me, we’ll go get some food and rest for you back in your rooms.”

I shook my head vigorously, and Peyton spoke up, saying, “I’m staying for this. I want to know why we were attacked. And we have other things to discuss.”

Lexie seemed uncertain about leaving with Chase, seeing how resolved the rest of us were to stay, until Lucas popped back up from the chair, almost tripping over it awkwardly as he did so. “You know, a good hot bath and meal sound wonderful. Let’s get out of here, Lexie.” Peyton smiled warmly at his retreating back as Lexie nodded wordlessly, and Chase led them out of the room.

37. Lucas

On By MaryIn 2023, WritingLeave a comment

Leaving Raella and the others to deal with the drama of the ballroom, we made our way back to the balcony where I had last seen Peyton and Lexie. They were still there, unaware of everything that was happening inside. They were laughing, trying some kind of dance while standing side by side, holding each other’s hands, but it looked like they were fumbling the steps. Cassandra was practically pulling Jon Umberling along – he looked a little unnerved, like this was the last thing he had expected. “I had no idea they hadn’t even told any of you,” he practically squeaked, breathless at our reaction.

“What’s going on?” Lexie asked as we all arrived. I guess all of us had quite serious expressions, because she looked instantly nervous seeing us. Peyton, on the other hand, had become expressionless.

“This is Jon Umberling,” Cassandra introduced again, standing just behind the dwarf. “He’s a scholar here in the Saph Anchor. When the elves reached out to the dwarves and told them about the seal, he traveled down into the mountains with a group of researchers, and found an old archive that provided information about the gods… and about the Chosen, especially the Chosen summoned to help reform the seal every 500 years.”

“Yes, it was quite the treasure trove of knowledge. Perhaps even a temple of the God of Knowledge himself. We’ve even unearthed the names of the entire pantheon…”

“We’re sacrifices,” I blurted out, interrupting the smaller man.

Lexie blanched and Peyton’s expression deepened into a frown. “Sacrifices?” Lexie said, her voice very small.

“I thought so,” Peyton said quietly. “But I had hoped…”

“Yes. The spell is so powerful that it pretty much zaps our entire life from us. We die when we complete it,” I continued, my voice probably louder than it needed to be from my anger.

“They never told you?” Jon said again, twisting his head to look around at all of us as we reacted to the information. He didn’t seem to want to believe it. “We were under the impression that… that your sacrifice was willingly made… well, I suppose it would be much to ask. But without you, our entire world…” he trailed off again, his expression crestfallen.

Lyre gave the dwarf a pitying look, before turning immediately to Cassandra. “We should leave,” he said.

Cassandra was staring at the dwarf. I could see the sympathy in her face even before she spoke, and hated it almost instantly. I didn’t want to die. “And then what? This great evil being gets loose?”

“We don’t even know that he’ll be powerful enough to destroy the world. That could all be a lie as well!” I pointed out bitterly.

“But the gods were worried about him all those years ago…”

Lyre grabbed her by the shoulders, his fingers gripped tight into the sleeves of her dress. “I don’t care if he frightens gods. I don’t care if he is a god! I’ll face any of the gods I need to keep you safe!” She stared at him, her eyes wide in shock at the ferocity in his tone.

“There’s another thing…” Asterollan started. “The king of my country is here as well, and looks fully prepared for a fight. Perhaps we should be having this debate somewhere safer.”

Peyton had stood quietly through the entire conversation, her expression growing stormy and distant. As Asterollan finished talking, she walked back into the ballroom. Asterollan stared after her. “Or… not?” We followed.

As we entered the ballroom, the human king and his retinue were nowhere to be seen. But it looked like Raella and Greyjon were approaching us, like they had been looking to find us. Greyjon had an openly questioning expression as Peyton stormed up to them, looking furious. Peyton snatched a glass of white wine from a passing tray and, as we approached them, splashed it dramatically into Raella’s face.

We all froze behind her. I could hear Lexie softly go, “Oh shit,” under her breath.

Greyjon took a step back.

“So you planned for us to die,” Peyton said, her voice projected clearly across the entire spacious room. The chattering in the hall hushed as everyone shifted their attention, wanting to see what was happening. Asterollan’s head twisted around – he was clearly on the lookout for the other humans. But the rest of us couldn’t take our eyes away from the scene unfolding in front of us. Chase and Zolambi were approaching, but at a slowed pace. At Peyton’s words, Greyjon and Chase at least looked ashamed, and seemed to be having difficulty making eye contact with any of us. Zolambi, on the other hand, steadily stared at each of us, though he flushed so deeply that his scar stood out like a bright white spot.

Raella coolly pulled a handkerchief from somewhere unseen, dabbing gently at the rivulets of wine that dripped from her face. “I believe this needs to be a private conversation,” she said. “There is much more than this to discuss, after all.”

Peyton turned on her heel, marching out of the ballroom by a different exit that looked as though it descended into the gardens below. The rest of us followed her. “Wait!” I could hear Greyjon calling after us. It sounded like they were following, but we didn’t stop.

We stepped out into the moonlit gardens. Even with the moonlight, it was almost oppressively dark, and the shapes of the bushes and the hedges and statues were indistinguishable shadows that surrounded us. We followed Peyton until she came to an abrupt stop. She turned on us, her expression still distant, her arms crossed. But now instead of looking regal and dramatic, she looked deflated and helpless. Strangely, seeing that made my heart twist a little uncomfortably, and I felt my own rage dissipate. “That was dramatic,” I commented.

“Actress, remember?” she said, her lips turning up into a forced smile. She sighed, and dropped her arms. “I just… wanted to embarrass her, I guess.”

“You did an excellent job,” I reassured her, but realized that she was frowning at something past me. I turned to look back where we had come – a strange shimmery field of light lay across the face of the palace, blocking the exits and the windows. It was apparently stopping anyone from following us. Greyjon was pounding against it with his fist, and he looked to be yelling, but we couldn’t hear any of the sounds beyond the barrier at all.

“Damnit,” I heard Asterollan sigh as I heard the clinking of armor and swords being drawn from somewhere in the dark. “I tried to tell you.”

Peyton looked suddenly panicked. “And I should have listened,” she said, sounding truly remorseful. A shadow shifted away from a nearby shrub, becoming a person. It rushed forward at Peyton’s voice. Whatever martial art she wasn’t a black belt in suddenly came in handy – she shifted fluidly, avoiding the sword that was thrust at her, grabbing the man’s arm and using his own momentum to fling him across the garden path. Asterollan stomped on the man’s hand, hard, causing a garbled cry, then he quickly bent to grab the sword. Without hesitation, he slid it down into our attacker’s neck. “Run!” he hissed at us. We scattered. “No. Back to the palace, idiots!” he hissed again.

We’re really not good at this coordinating thing, I thought to myself. I watched Lyre and Cassandra run off into the garden maze ahead of us, but I was more concerned for Lexie and followed her and Peyton as they dodged off across the garden displays on the outside of the maze. I could hear the clinking of armor as we were chased. How many human soldiers had waited for us out in the shadows of the gardens?

Ahead of us was the face of the mountain where it met with the palace, and what looked like a natural cave mouth that was part of the garden environs. Lexie ran into the dark opening, and Peyton and I followed. I felt myself hit some sort of stone pillar, bouncing off it hard with a loud thump.  Realizing it would leave a bruise later, I twisted around it and held my arms out, feeling for other structures in the dark.

I saw Lexie light up ahead of me, and angrily said, “Stop! Don’t touch your magic! They’ll see you!” I saw the panicky look in her eyes just as the light around her dropped. “Go deeper into the cave and hide,” I whispered as I heard our pursuers catching up outside. 

I scurried further in, finding another stone pillar to press myself against. I did my best to calm my breathing. “Damn, did someone bring a torch?” I could hear one of the men ask as they stumbled into the cave.

“No, didn’t think we’d be running into the rutting mountain,” another whispered loudly. “Do you think they got away?”

I pushed away from the pillar and moved further back into the cave. I was hoping it might lead into a passage that would take us away from our pursuers. And then I hit a wall. I followed along it a bit, feeling my palms smacking against the rough stone for a good several feet, the panic rising in my throat. Maybe this cave didn’t lead anywhere at all. Maybe we were trapped. We had no way of knowing.

I turned back to where I could make out the front of the cave, hoping the opening would provide enough backlighting to tell me how many soldiers there were. Our pursuers were far enough in now that the darkness hid them as well. I could hear breathing and the clink of armor. They would be close soon.

I held my breath for a moment, trying to think desperately of what I could do. We needed light. Despite what I had told Lexie, I reached for my magic. “There!” I heard a shout, and heard the twang of a pair of bows as the light of magic surrounded me. I gasped as one of the arrows grazed me along my right side, and the other pierced my thigh.

“Lucas!” Lexie immediately lit up after me, and a ball of fire blossomed into existence in the middle of the cave. I watched at least two men go up in flames, their screeches drowning out the shouting that erupted from the other two men I could now see in the light. I watched Peyton step away from the wall to deliver a quick series of blows to one of those men, pushing him into the ball of fire. He bounced up quickly, covered in flames and screaming, running from the cave. The two that had been initially caught in the fire had fallen to the ground and stopped moving. They were silent. It had all happened so fast that it seemed unreal. The smell of burning flesh was acrid in my nose, and I felt nauseous – I shifted along the cave wall, wanting the fresh air outside.

Lexie was moving along the opposite wall, looking almost sick as she stared wide eyed at the bodies on the floor. The ball of fire disappeared, but the light of magic still glowed around the both of us. The last man moved toward her, ready to strike with his sword. She hardly seemed to notice, still staring at the charred figures on the floor. I summoned several vines, grasping at his arms and legs before he could reach her, and pulling him hard against the ground and away from the girl. Maybe too hard – I could hear the sickening crunch of breaking bone as the man screamed in pain.

The three of us were outside of the cave quickly, gasping in the clean air. Not far from the cave entrance was the charred body of the man that had run from the cave. Pointedly ignoring him, I pulled the arrow out of my thigh, crying out as I felt it take nearly a whole chunk of flesh with it. Peyton moved toward me instantly, placing her hand over the wound, using the healing spell – though not as effective as what Cassandra or I could manage, the wound did seal and the bleeding stopped. “We need to find Cassandra,” she said, looking at the divot scar that remained in my leg. I could see that her dress had ripped through all the action – there were now slits up the sides of the hips, rising quite high, the sheer cape was completely missing, and one of the shoulder straps had broken so the dress was hanging quite revealingly. I boggled for a moment at the sight, then tried not to stare.

“Yes, we should hurry.” As we turned to jog back to the maze, I belatedly decided to pull off my jacket and handed it to Peyton.

She grinned at me in thanks. “Really. Here I thought you enjoyed the view.”

“Shut up,” I said with a groan.

“I mean, you could have offered this a little sooner. Like before you got an entire eyeful.”

“I. Did. Not. Think. Shut up!” I pulled ahead, not wanting her to see how red I had gotten. I could hear Lexie laughing, maybe a touch manically, behind us.

As we approached the entrance to the maze, we found that a hole had been blasted through one of the hedge walls. The branches were still glowing and smoking from the magic that had created the opening. Following the blasted path, we came across at least two more bodies and found Asterollan, glowing with magic and holding the stolen sword at the ready. He turned on us when he heard our approach, but nodded when he recognized us. “Glad to see you’re safe.”

“Any sign of them yet?” I asked, meaning Lyre and Cassandra.

Asterollan shook his head. “No. I’m not sure how they even entered the maze. It’s got its own barrier.”

“How many soldiers do you think there are?” Peyton asked.

Asterollan frowned, glancing back. “King Vanguard has two personal elven slaves, powerful in defensive and offensive magics. One of them is likely maintaining the barrier that’s trapping our other companions back at the palace. The other may be out here with us. There are ten men in his personal guard – assuming he has brought all of them. I’ve killed three.”

“We killed four,” Lexie said, her voice quite low. She was staring at the ground, a subdued frown creasing her brow. I wondered how long the screams of the burning men would stay on her mind, and wished I could reassure her somehow, but wasn’t sure what to do or say.

Asterollan hesitated a moment hearing the tone in her voice, then clapped a hand on her shoulder. “So there are three left.”

“Assuming he didn’t bring any other soldiers along,” Peyton pointed out.

“To bring too many would be… diplomatically unwise,” Asterollan said. “But yes, it would probably be wiser to assume there are more than the 10.”

“Why are they after us?” I asked.

Asterollan shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“They’re your people.”

“I’m not privy to the motivations of a king.” Looking a little annoyed to be questioned, Asterollan lifted a hand – a bright beacon of light schwoomed! through the next row of hedges in the maze, leaving the glowing, burning debris we had seen in the previous holes.

I stared at the new opening as he stepped through it. “Cassandra!” he shouted as he went. With a sigh, I followed him, readying myself for anything he was likely to draw toward us with as much noise as he was making. We continued in that manner through at least three more walls of the maze, before we hit an open space that had a fountain in the center.

A woman turned to look at us. The same one with the long silvery hair that I had seen back in the ballroom. Standing closer to her now, I could see that the tendrils of her tattoo were forming the shapes of tentacles. She was wearing a heavy looking jade gem at the base of her collarbone, shaped like an octopus. She looked surprised to see us, despite the noise Asterollan had been making. He looked surprised to see her too, but moved quickly straight up to her. The light of magic began to spring into being around her just as Asterollan ripped the octopus shaped gem away from her throat.

The light of magic dropped instantly, and she reached up to where the gem had been, crying out in rage. Asterollan turned and tossed the gem to Peyton. “Don’t let her touch it!” he shouted at her. The woman bodily jumped on him, scratching at his face with her fingers, and he cried out angrily, throwing her away. Peyton caught the gem, but two men emerged from out of the maze closest to her, angrily charging her with their swords drawn. I moved forward to help her, drawing on my magic to make the maze grow out and swallow one as Peyton slammed a fist into the throat of the other. She turned and tossed the gem to Lexie.

Lexie’s eyes went wide in panic, and she flailed her hands helplessly. “I! Can’t! Catch!” she screeched, as her fingers fumbled the gem in the air. She succeeded in accidentally batting it back towards the fountain, and closer to the elven mage, who saw her chance to dive for it.