GG, what I have to say is very important, so I’ll say it again:
MORE DAMMNIT MORE! I MUST DEVOUR YOUR ARTISTIC WORKS!
Seph, calm down. GG will get it more out as soon as he can. But until then just calm down, and wait peacefully like the rest of us.
No, it’s okay. I don’t mind. The fact that I already have rabid fans does WONDERS for my rediculusly small ego. :hahaha;
Sowwy ;_;. I just like it and want to read more. And I am NOT a rabid fan, I just like it.
Well whatever Seph.
And GG, if it will help your ego, then call me a rabid fan, that wants more of your story! And very soon!!
BEWARE I LIVE!
Got another chapter for y’all. Sorry about the wait.
BTW, the rating just got bumped to PG-13. :mwahaha:
CHAPTER VIII
Shadowy Figures
The Arianos settlement was quite a bit smaller than Datharel, but still a very nice-looking place. The Temple was within sight. Not wanting to waste any more time and eager to rest, the Adepts made a beeline for it.
The gates of the temple were guarded by a pair of mean-looking Dwarves with shaggy black hair.
“Halt, who goes there?” The left one said predictably.
Orion stepped forward. “We are Adepts of Clan Datharel, here to deliver a message to Zalma Arianos.”
The right Dwarf spoke up. “Is she expecting you?”
Orion scratched his head. “I…don’t know.”
The two Dwarves exchanged glances.
“Wait here.”
They entered the gates and closed them tightly.
Not a word was said until the door opened twenty minutes later.
The Dwarves returned, and said “You may enter. Don’t touch anything.”
The adepts found themselves in a long corridor.
The Arianos Temple looked surprisingly similar to the Datharel one.
At the end of the corridor was a black-haired Human man.
“Follow me.” He said.
The Adepts did.
He led them to a large study. In the middle of it, flipping through an old-looking book, was an elderly Elf woman with long white hair.
She turned to the adepts and gave them a friendly smile.
“Welcome to my temple, Adepts. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”
Orion walked toward her and bowed. “My good lady, we bring to you a message from Vincent Datharel, omni of Clan Datharel.”
He took the scroll from his bag and handed it to her. She quickly opened it and read it.
“Hmm…interesting, quite interesting indeed…Sir Datharel is quite right, you know. War IS coming. And if we want to win, we MUST stand together.”
She glanced at a clock on the wall. It was almost 10 o’ clock.
“You must be tired. Maghar will show you to a spare dormitory…we will talk tomorrow morning.”
The dark-haired human led them out of the study and showed them to an empty dorm, a bit smaller than then theirs back at Datharel Temple.
“Make yourselves comfortable.” Maghar said calmly. “I will summon you in the morning when Lady Zalma requires your presence.”
With that, he turned and walked out the door.
Orion and Maya walked over to one of the beds and switched on a crystal lamp. Something seemed different about it.
“Hey…” Orion said, to no-one in particular, “is it just me, or do these lamps seem a little bit…brighter?”
“Th-that’s because they are.” Alexander said from behind them.
“There are many high-quality l-lumastone mines nearby…people from every corner of Arroyo import it.”
Orion couldn’t help but notice that Alex’s eye was twitching and one of his hands was shaking.
“Are you alright, man?” The Fire Adept asked.
“I’ve been b-better.” Alex said with a half-smile. “I think I’ll g-go lay down for awhile…” He then walked off, hand still shaking.
“Poor guy,” Maya said sadly. “I wish there was something we can do to help him…”
“Me too,” Orion responded in the same tone, “but all we CAN do is be there for him…I can’t imagine what this must be like for him. I’ve heard that withdrawal from shade oil has driven many men insane…”
“That won’t happen to him,” Maya said in a slightly cheerier tone. “I know it.”
Orion laughed despite himself. “Ye gods, Maya, since when have you been so freakin’ optimistic?”
Maya giggled. “Karen’s been rubbing off on me…if we were in the middle of a storm, she’d comment on how nice the raindrops sounded on the rooftop.”
They were interrupted by a cry of “C’mon, do it, ya wuss!”
They turned and Saw Ganni holding Vixx over his head while everyone else, sans Alex, watched with a mixture of horror and amazement.
“C’mon! You don’t have the stones!” Vixx shouted with enthusiasm.
“Alrighty then…your funeral”
With that, Ganni tossed the Gnome into a waiting pile of pillows and blankets several yards away. As soon as he came to his senses, Vixx got up and bowed. Every one of the spectators – even Robyn – was cheering.
The next morning, they woke up at 9 AM and Maghar came to the dorm an hour later.
“Lady Zalma will see you now.” He said.
He led them to what could best be described as a conference room. Zalma Arianos was standing in the center, flanked by a blue-eyed Aven man and a white-eyed Merwoman.
“The people beside me are Mason and Kaeli of the Arianos Elite. I hope you don’t mind them joining us.”
Once again, Orion stepped forward. “So what exactly is going on?
The Omni waved her hands, and with a purple flash in her eyes, slammed the door shut.
“What you are about to be told can NOT leave this room. We were debating whether or not to tell you, as you ARE all still pretty young, but if you’re half as good as Vince says you are, then you need to know. You may end up fighting for us.”
“As you all know, Adrian Solego is a power-hungry madman. His settlement is the largest we know of, with Datharel in a close second, and he rules it with an iron fist. He oppresses his people and would kill a man just as easily as he would look at him.”
“We all know he wants power, and we now know that he has a way to get it.”
“Tell me...have any of you ever heard of the ritual of the Book, the Blade and the Stone?”
The room was silent for a moment. The Robyn stepped forward and answered.
“It’s...some ancient rite that grants the bearer near-omnipotence.”
Arianos nodded. “That is correct. There are certain laws that wizards all across Arroyo follow...even a large percentage of Normals know of these particular laws.”
Normals were what people of Arroyo call non-wizards.
“The laws that are held most sacrosanct are those forbidding certain rituals, and the Book, the Blade and the Stone is the second-most forbidden ritual in history. Attempting this rituals is not only punishable by Normal and Wizard law alike, but can have dire consequences on the caster.”
“Before you ask, I will not tell you what the most-forbidden is, but lets just say that Solego – a man that would slit his mother’s throat for a Tek – would not even attempt due to the toll it could take on him.”
“Anywho, as the name suggests, the ritual of the Book, the Blade and the Stone requires three magical artifacts. Not any particular ones, no, but they must all contain unimaginable amounts of magical energy. And three such objects exist today. Solego wants them.”
“The Book is an ancient tome called Necronomicon ex Mortis – the book of the dead. Bound in flesh and inked in blood, the Necronomicon contains the most powerful necromancy known to man. It is under my protection.”
“The Blade is a sword known as the Hyperion. I’m sure some of you have heard of it. For those who haven’t...The eccentricness of Ruke, the first Adept, is legendary. On his deathbed, his last request was that he be cremated, and that his ashes were mixed with metal and forged into a sword. His family complied. The metal that his ashes were poured into was pure mythril, and the hilt was painstakingly carved from platinum. The end result was a beautiful bastard sword known as the Hyperion. Ruke’s essence within it granted it extreme amounts of magical energy. It’s almost five hundred years old, and no part of it has ever rushed, corroded or tarnished, and it can still cleave steel like a hot knife through butter. The Hyperion is in the care of Sir Datharel.”
“And the Stone...that would be the Rosetta Stone. As you know, most lumastone is white or grayish-blue in color. Some years ago, a man discovered a lode of lumastone that was rose-pink in color. From this stone, he forged a beautiful crystal ball. He did some research, and found out some interesting things about pink lumastone. It can contain abnormal amounts of energy, and if properly treated, can be made nearly indestructible. And thus, he treated it. People used the artifact to channel and amplify magic. It came to be known as the Rosetta Stone.
It...was in the possession of Brian Almarid.”
The aged Elf’s face fell.
“Solego has it now.”
A silence fell over the room.
“Me and Datharel will protect the remaining artifacts with our lives. The time to act against Solego is soon.”
“Tomorrow, we will all go back to the Datharel settlement, and I shall speak to him personally.”
Suddenly, without warning, the whole room was engulfed in blackness.
Orion’s voice rang out. “What in the name of Sol...Ganni, are you doing this?”
The Orc’s voice shot back. “No! Vixx, light this place up!”
“I AM!”, the Gnome responding “This is no natural darkness! Stay alert!”
As suddenly as the darkness came, it disappeared. Kaeli and Mason were unconscious on the floor, and behind Arianos was a beautiful woman in a black dress with long, flowing black hair, murky eyes, and crimson lips.
“Look out!” Breaker shouted, but it was too late.
Quicker than lightning, the woman in black drew a dagger from an unseen sheath and slit, and time seemed to slow down. The razor-sharp blade of the dagger slid across the Elf woman's throat. It cut the skin cleanly, leaving blood to only seep from the wound itself. As time sped up, Arianos let out a slight gasp as the life bled out of her body.
Her eyes rolled back into her head and she died almost instantly, falling to the ground and lading with a thud, the assassin not even bothering to confirm her work, such was her confidence and skill.
The assassin then held up the dagger. The blade was a shiny and transparent red, as if it was carved from ruby, and it glistened with fresh blood. The women slowly brought it to her mouth, licked some of the blood off, and smiled.
For just a moment, the icy darkness returned, and when it again faded, she was gone.
Suddenly, the door burst open, and a brown-haired dwarf with green eyes rushed in. “Lady Arianos, we have to...SWEET MERCIFUL SOL!”
His eyes bugged out at the site of the Omni of his clan with her throat cut.
Orion was babbling incoherently.
“Assassin...darkness...blood...gaaah...”
Maya promptly slapped him across the face.
“Thank you Maya. Anywho, this woman in a black dress just appeared out of nowhere and killed her!”
The Dwarf raised an eyebrow. “But how...she couldn’t...unless...oh, SHIT!”
“Do you all have any idea what’s going on outside??”
Everyone shook their heads.
“We’re being invaded by Solego’s forces! And on top of that, I’ll bet my balls that another one of those...spectres, or whatever, has gotten into the vault!”
Everyone present knew what that meant, but Robyn was the only one who could say it.
“Solego has...the Necronomicon...”
Her expression was nearby unreadable, a mixture of fear, despair and rage.
The Dwarf turned to them. “Okay, listen to me closely...as fast as possible, run back to the dorm you were staying in and grab your weapons and whatever you need to survive. Then, if you look behind the large armoire on the eastern wall, you’ll find a hidden escape tunnel. It should take you straight to the entrance of the settlement. I then want you guys to run into Kanwood and find the most secluded spot you can – or better yet, a cave, if possible – and HIDE. Keep a low profile, because mark my words, people WILL be looking for you. Solego wants there to be NO-ONE who can call for reinforcements. As soon as possible, myself or someone else will come find you. Datharel WILL be alerted.”
An explosion was heard in the distance.
“Now, GO!”
They young mages didn’t need to be told twice. They ran to the dorm and grabbed some things, and found the escape tunnel. And like the Dwarf had said, it led them right to the gates. All over the place, soldiers wearing dark chainmail suits were wreaking havoc.
“C’mon, lets MOVE!” Breaker shouted.
Everyone ran off...except for Robyn. Her eyes were tearing up, and her body was shaking in fear. Ganni ran up to her, grabbed her arm, and pulled her with him.
Without looking back, the team ran into the forest, as fast as their legs could carry them.
Eventually, they found a large secluded spot. It was a fairly flat clearing, surrounded by some tall trees.
Orion turned to the others.
“Alright, people, we have to make SURE that we’re not found. Robyn, set up the tent. Breaker, Ganni, see if you can’t find some way to cover our tracks or camouflage us. We won’t be cooking tonight...we eat rations and, if need be, whatever we can forage for.”
Everyone ran off to do something useful.
Everyone except Maya. She just stood there looking at Orion.
“What is it?” Orion said, raising an eyebrow.
“Nothing. It’s just...amazing how you just took command like that. You seem to be a natural born leader.”
“Oh? Hmm...I never felt that way...”
“It’s a GOOD thing. We need a leader.”
“Very well. As your leader, I order you to kiss me right this minute.”
“Yes, sir!”
They went on for about five minutes, until Ganni gave them a dirty look that clearly said “Go make yourself useful”.
About half an hour later, the tent was set up. Breaker had managed to conjure up some moss and ivy over the outside of the tent to make it harder to spot from afar, and when night fell, Ganni was able to subtly enhance the darkness around them.
Shortly, everyone was asleep, with the exception of Robyn, who was still shaking violently.
Ganni, who was having a bit of trouble falling asleep himself, crawled over to her and quietly asked “Are you okay?”
Robyn turned to him, her violet eyes glowing dimly in the darkness.
“No, I’m not okay,” she said, sobbing quietly.
“Seeing everything happening back there…it reminded me of…of…”
She couldn’t finish that sentence, and didn’t need to.
Ganni moved a little closer.
“I…have no idea what to say.” He said in a calming tone.
“You’ve been dragged through something that no good-hearted person – least of all someone like you – deserves. I wish I could just wave a wand and make it all go away, but I can’t. Sometimes life sucks, and we just have to get used to it. I CAN promise you that no matter what, we’ll all be here for you.”
The teal-haired Mystic looked up at him.
“Ganni…thank you.”
Ganni smiled, and then started to crawl back to his spot, when Robyn grabbed his wrist and said, “No…please stay.”
Ganni simply looked at her for a moment, then pulled up his sleeping bag next to hers and curled up next to her. She still held on to his hand.
A few sleeping bags over, Orion and Maya fell asleep with huge smiles plastered on their faces.
If you like it, leave at review at FictionPress!
Heee It’s still alive! YAY! Nice so far GG,.
This would make a kick ass RPG.
I’ve only scanned through it… but I like what i read so far. Would you mind if I print it off so I can read when I’m not online?
You already know what I’m gonna say…
GG haz teh chapt0r for j00! :hahaha;
CHAPTER IX
Danger Zone
Most of the Adepts woke up quite early that morning, and unsurprisingly, most of them were NOT in a great mood.
Orion was the first to tell everyone that.
“Good morning, everyone. I hope I’m not the only one who’s hoping that today will suck less than yesterday.”
Ganni groaned and sat up.
“Yeah…nothing ruins your day like the assassination of a clan leader.”
Vixx was the next to voice his opinion about the situation.
“Was I the only one who almost soiled his pants at the sight of that assassin? There was something…otherworldly about her that creeped me out.”
Orion scratched his head thoughtfully.
“I know exactly what you mean, Vixx. And her weapon…it was amazing. Do you know how hard it is to forge ruby into a blade? I’m very certain that Izzy or Pyras couldn’t do it. And the precision she used it with…that’s not the kind of thing that can be taught.”
Maya shuddered.
“Can we please NOT talk about assassins for ten seconds?”
Breaker was paying no attention to all this.
“Um, hey, guys?” he said nervously. “Is it just me or does Alex look kinda…ill?
They all turned their attention to the Elf, who was still half-asleep. His body was quite sweaty, and if he weren’t an Adept, his not-quite-open eyes would doubtlessly be bloodshot. Robyn approached him and touched his forehead.
“He has a slight fever,” she said. “Do you think he caught a bug or something?”
Orion and Maya looked at each other, but said nothing. Alex responded with a grunt.
“I’m sure…it’s nothing…”
Robyn took a moment to look him over. “Just lie down and rest for awhile longer. It’s probably nothing serious.”
Alex groaned and sat up. “No, really, I feel fine…I need a little air.”
He crawled out of his sleeping bag and headed outside the tent.
No-one but Orion heard Maya sigh.
A bit later that day, Orion went outside the tent and saw Alex concentrating over a yellow summoning circle. He walked up to him and looked over his shoulder, but said nothing. He knew well enough not to disturb a summoner while he’s summoning.
In a few moments, a fountain of yellow light erupted from the circle.
When it subsided, there was what looked like a gold pocket watch floating in mid air. It’s hands were spinning erratically.
“A Tock...very nicely done.”
Tocks were a type of lesser Time elemental.
”Yeah...I’ve heard that Time elementals make great sentries, and we could probably use one of those.” Alex said in a somewhat cheerful tone, which was a welcome change from the tired, apathetic voice he had been using more and more often recently.
“You have no IDEA how true that is,” Orion responded with a huge smile.
“If instructed to, a Watcher will stand guard over a single location for centuries until it’s dismissed. That’s why they’re called Watchers. A Tock should be perfect for keeping an eye out for anything unusual.”
Alex leaned forward and whispered some instructions to the floating
watch. It made a ticking sound several times, then buzzed off.
“I’ve instructed it to warn us of any suspicious figures it sees. That should give us a fair warning in case someone tries something. And I have very little doubt that someone will. We were the sole witnesses of an assassination, and that makes us targets.”
The next few days passed uneventfully. With each day that passed, the young mages became more and more restless.
Then, around 4 PM on the fifth day, while the group was relaxing around a campfire, a figure approached the camp. The Adepts all jumped up and readied their weaponry, but put it down when a familiar silver-haired Mystic approached them.
“Sir Datharel!” Karen exclaimed.
The elder Adept smiled. “I have been told all the details. It looks like Solego is finally putting whatever master plan he had in motion. It is not safe here. Come with me.”
He gestured for them to follow, and they were about to, when suddenly, a small gold sparkle darted out from the brush. It buzzed around Datharel’s head for a moment, then hovered in place and started to ring loudly.
A look of horror quickly swept over Alex’s face.
“Guys, RUN! That’s not Datharel!” He yelled as loud as a could.
“Datharel” cursed loudly as the Adepts took off. His imaged shimmered for a moment, then faded away, leaving a white-eyed Dwarf in his place.
He whistled, and fifteen soldiers in identical armor came out from their hiding spots.
“After them!” The dwarf yelled angrily. “Capture them if you can, but if they resist, do not hesitate to kill them! GO!”
The soldiers responded with a chorus of “Yes sir, General Tacker, sir!” and ran off after the Adepts.
The general looked to the floating watch, which was still ringing loudly. His eyes flashed angrily, and the Tock faded away.
The Adepts ran deeper and deeper into the forest, and the soldiers pursued relentlessly, occasionally firing blasts of elemental energy at them.
Orion looked over his shoulder. The soldiers were quickly gaining on them.
The Fire Adept suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and turned around. Out of shock, the others did the same.
“Orion, what in the name of Sol are you THINKING?’
He unsheathed Starcleaver, and yelled back “This bastards aren’t going to tire before we do! We have to fight back! If I die, I am NOT going to do so while running away!”
Ganni sighed. “Orion, you are one crazy son of a bitch.”
The Orc took out his mythril glove and slipped it on to his hand.
“And that is precisely the reason why you need me.”
The others quickly drew their own weapons and stood beside them.
The soldiers quickly caught up, and seemed confused to see the Adepts facing them. The one in charge stepped forward.
“By order of Olrik Tacker, General of the Solego Armed Forces, you are to be immediately detained! Resist, and we shall have to use lethal force.”
Orion stroked his chin in mock thought.
“Hmm...I’m not sure. I’ll have to consult my advisor. What do you say, Starcleaver?” He held the blade of the sword up to his ear for a moment, then said “What’s that? Tell these guys to rot in hell and then rip them several new orifices? Sounds good to me!”
He quickly assumed a combat stance, and the others mimicked him.
The lead soldier growled. “You had your chance! Kill them!”
The men all drew one-handed longswords and readied spells in their free hands.
The two groups started each other down for a moment.
Then, without warning, one of the soldiers charged at Orion. He sidestepped the charging warrior, raised his free hand and unleashed a flame jet at him as he passed. He fell to the ground and stayed there.
“Anyone else want some?” Orion said in an intimidating tone.
The rest of the men charged simultaneously, and the battle begun.
Orion quickly slashed at the leader, and he quickly parried with the large claymore he was carrying.
“Foolish boy...do you know who I am?” He said though clenched teeth.
“You’re a psychotic bastard who’s trying to kill me and my friends...that’s all I need to know.”
The man laughed, the removed the face-concealing helmet he was wearing and threw it aside, revealing a large, shaggy mane of reddish-brown hair and a pair of fiery red eyes.
“You are now dueling with Spencer Boilseed, Fire Adept of the Solego Elite, second-in-command to General Tacker, and the greatest swordsman on the face of Arroyo!” he said with a malicious grin.
Orion let out a dark chuckle.
“Am I supposed to be impressed? Well listen up, you mindless flunky. YOU are now dueling with Orion Dekar, pissed-off teenager. Now why don’t you shut your piehole and show me what that pointy thing of yours can do.”
Boilseed let out an evil laugh. “I like you, boy. If we weren’t enemies, we could be good friends.”
Without another word, he raised his sword and brought in down in a wide ark. Orion quickly dodged and responded, cutting the man’s arm.
“Heh...you’re good, I’ll give you that.” The elder Adept said. “I am no longer holding back. And your smart mouth won’t save you now.”
An Orcish soldier rushed at Ganni with his sword drawn. Ganni grabbed the sword with his mythril-coated right hand and yanked it out of the soldier’s hands. Then threw it aside. Before the toady had realized what happened, Ganni had knocked him out with a quick punch in the face.
One would think the height of a Gnome like Vixx would be quite a disadvantage in combat. However, as all the enemy soldiers were men, his height – or rather, his lack thereof – left him in the perfect position to target a very sensitive area with his warhammer.
Karen was having problems, as a few soldiers decided to gang up on her.
Said problem was quickly rectified by the fact that none of them were Aven, and thus Karen was currently about a foot out of their reach. Grasping her spear tightly, she let a very hawk-like screech as she dive-bombed the soldiers, impaling one through the chest and knocking the other two over like dominoes.
She removed her spear from the now-dead warrior, and shuddered as she wiped the blood off on a nearby patch of grass.
Breaker wielded his large battleaxe like a man possessed as a pair of soldiers repeatedly tried to disarm him. He was caught by surprise when a third grabbed him from behind, causing him to drop his axe. Acting on instinct, he pulled the man forward and flipped him over his head, then swiftly picked up his axe and swung it at one of the approaching swordsmen, swiftly beheading him. The other one, seeing this, ran off.
Breaker took a moment to look upon his handiwork, then promptly emptied the contents of his stomach into a bush.
Robyn was doing her best to stay out of the way of the combat, as she was truly not a warrior at heart, but she was caught by surprised when a soldier broke off from the group and charged her. Panicking, she screamed and thrust her arms forward. With a purple flash, the guard lost his footing and went flying backwards, slamming into a large tree several yards away.
Robyn looked at her hands for a moment, then uncharacteristically smiled. She focused her energies, then shifted her gaze to another unsuspecting soldier…
Despite still feeling ill, Alex fought with the grace, precision and agility that Elves were famous for, taking his time and carefully evading the incoming blows, while simultaneously delivering swift strikes with his katar.
It seemed that the soldiers had won when several more of them came and surrounded him. Alex simply smiled. He closed his eyes and concentrated, and as the soldiers closed in, he evaded so quickly that the soldiers didn’t even see him. They stood there confused for a moment, and several of them fell to the ground moments later with crossbow bolts embedded in their backs. The others retreated.
About ten yards away, a smiling Time Adept was reloading a crossbow.
~~~~
A short distance away, yet another group of soldiers was surrounding one of the people they had been ordered to kill...this time, a poor, defenseless little girl. Said girl was currently on her knees, rapidly chanting.
“Praying won’t save you now, girly.” one of them said with a grunt.
“Oh, I’m not praying.” Maya responded calmly.
She raised her arms into the
air, and a wave of water burst forth in all directions. The soldiers were all sopping wet, and quite pissed off.
“Water?” Another soldier said angrily. “You think a little WATER will stop us?”
“No, not at all.” The Merwoman said smugly. “But it’ll make this quite a bit more effective.”
She thrust her hands forward, and will a blue flash, all the soldiers were trapped in inch-thick ice. She tapped the head of one of the soldiers with her katana.
“Oh, don’t worry.” She said. “This stuff should melt before you suffocate or freeze to death, but if you don’t mind, I really don’t have time to stick around and make sure. Bye.”
And with that, she strutted off.
In the center of it all, two swordsmen were ferociously trading blows. They seemed to be equal in skill, but Boilseed was much stronger than Orion was. However, Orion quickly noticed this, and tried to use his superior speed to his advantage.
The younger Adept jump forward at what he thought was an opening.
He learned the hard way that Boilseed was simply baiting him, and he swiftly swung his claymore at Starcleaver, knocking it out of Orion’s hand, and delivered a sharp kick to the mage’s waist, bringing him to the ground.
The soldier put his armored foot on Orion’s chest and pointed his sword at his throat.
“You fought bravely, warrior. I would give my right arm for a dozen men like you in my ranks. But in the end, it is I who am superior.” Boilseed said triumphantly. “Have you any last words?”
“Yes…” said Orion weakly. “Look…behind you.”
The swordsman let out a loud, short bark of laughter.
“Do you honestly think that a man of my ranks would fall for a…”
He was interrupted by a tap on his shoulder. He turned and saw a brown-haired Mer pointing the business end of a Katana at his face, with a group of Adepts with similarly-aimed weapons standing behind her.
He clenched his teeth and stepped away from Orion, then put his sword on the ground. Orion righted himself and retrieved Starcleaver.
He then kicked Boilseed down and pointed his sword at his throat.
Boilseed surprised everyone present by laughing evilly.
“You think you’ve won, don’t you?” he said with a vicious smile.
“Short version, yes. Long version, hell yes.” Orion responded defiantly.
Before any more words could be exchanged, a gunshot rang out.
Orion felt the bullet graze his leg and dropped his sword, wincing in pain.
Everyone turned in the direction of the shot. In the distance, they could see a man wearing a long gray coat and a wide-brimmed hat, with his face concealed by a large scarf. He was clutching what looked like an extremely well-made blast rod. Standing next to him was a white-eyed Dwarf with matching hair and beard, who had several more soldiers behind him.
“That was a warning shot!” The Dwarf called out. “If he wanted you dead, you WOULD be dead, make no mistake! Now put away your weapons, and put up your hands!”
Everyone looked to Orion. He mouthed the words “Do it.”
They all sheathed their weapons, and slowly put their hands in the air.
The Dwarf, several soldiers and the man in gray walked toward them. The Dwarf approached Boilseed and helped him up.
“I told you, Spencer.” He said calmly… “You underestimated Datharel again. Next time, bring more men.”
“Sorry, General Tacker, sir.” he responded.
General Tacker turned to the man in gray.
“You have done well.” he said. “You may return.”
The man nodded, and suddenly there was a dark flash, momentarily blinding everyone present. When they came to their senses a second later, he was gone.
The general next addressed one of the soldiers standing behind him.
“You there.” he said. “Detain them.”
The soldier nodded, stepped forward, and spoke the word “Impedio!”
At the exact moment, Ganni (who was currently standing next to Orion) lowered his hands and shouted “Contego!”
There were two simultaneous flashes. When they subsided, all of the Datharel Adepts, with the exception of Orion and Ganni, were bound in thick ropes. Ganni grabbed Orion’s arm and ran off, dragging Orion with him.
Several soldiers started to pursue them, when General Tacker yelled “Stop! Don’t bother. We haven’t the time to chase after them. We must return immediately.”
He turned to a soldier who possessed the violet eyes of a Space Adept.
“Begin the portal.”
A good distance away, Ganni was running and dragging Orion, who was trying to resist and run back.
“What the hell are you doing?!” yelled Orion angrily. “We have to go back! We have to save them!”
“We can’t!” yelled Ganni back. “On the off-chance that the two of us could fight off all of them, and they doubtlessly were tougher than the toadies we took care of earlier, we couldn’t undo those bindings! That was a powerful Ensnare spell, and unless you happen to be the one who cast it, it takes a LOT more skill than we have to undo it! It was pure dumb luck that my Shield spell worked!”
“I don’t give a rat’s ass!” Orion shouted back, yanking his arm back.
“A pox on them and their spells! I have to go back! They have our friends...they have Maya! Do you hear me? THEY HAVE MAYA!!”
As Orion started to run away, Ganni grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
“For once in your life, LISTEN TO ME! If we try anything now, they’ll kill us all! Do you want that? DO YOU?!”
The next few moments passed in silence. Orion’s body went limp and he fell to his knees.
“I...I don’t see how YOU can be so calm about this...” the Fire Adept said quietly.
“What do you mean?” Ganni responded curiously.
Orion responded with a chuckle. “Don’t give me that, you big oaf. I’ve seen the way you’ve been spending time with Robyn...it couldn’t be more blindingly obvious.”
More silence.
“...is it really THAT obvious?”
“All we need to do to tell is see how you look at her...you’re obviously crazy about her. And I have every little doubt in my mind that she feels the same way about you.”
“...really?”
“Well, that’s all irrelevant now...they’re probably all in Solego’s dungeons as we speak.”
“Do NOT say that, man.”
“It’s most likely true.”
Orion got up off the ground, but couldn’t look Ganni in the eyes.
“We should probably go and inform Datharel...I’m sure he could help.” The Orc said.
“Doubtlessly.” Orion responded. “But who knows what they’ll do to them in the meantime? No, if we want to get them out alive, we HAVE to do something ourselves.”
Ganni raised one eyebrow. “And how do you suppose we do that? The Solego settlement is quite far from here, and neither of us know exactly where!”
They both suddenly heard a loud cough in the background. They turned and saw a purple-eyed soldier sitting at the base of a tree a few feet away, rubbing a his head.
Orion was speechless. “Does this seem a little too convenient to you?” he asked Ganni.
“Yes, yes it does.” The Orc responded. “But when opportunity knocks, it’s often best to answer.”
The two talked over to the fallen soldier. Orion drew his sword and pointed it at him.
“You’re one of Solego’s soldiers right?” He asked.
The soldier gulped and replied nervously. “Y-Yes...”
“And you’re a Space Adept?”
“Yes...”
“So you could portal us to the outskirts of the Solego settlement?”
“Yes.”
“And I assume you like your testicles right where they are.”
The man’s purple eyes widened. “Yes...”
“Good. I think we can cooperate then.”
Ganni put his hand on Orion’s shoulder. “Wait...even if we CAN get in, then what? If what I’ve heard is true, the Solego’s temple is more like a FORTRESS. It’s almost three times the size of your average temple, and has huge battalions of soldiers ready to do at any moment.”
“You’re absolutely right, my fanged friend.” Orion said.
“It would be suicide to charge in and fight are way through...which is why we are going to infiltrate the temple and rescue the others. We slip in and slip out as quickly as possible.”
Ganni put his hand on his chin and thought hard, digesting the plan.
“You know,” he said after several minutes, “that is just crazy enough to work.”
Orion flashed a huge grin. “Alrighty then!”
“One problem,” Ganni quickly said, “What do we do with soldier boy after he portals us?”
“Oh...yeah...” He turned to the soldier.
“What’s your name, soldier?”
The man blinked several times, and said “Torin. Torin Wheeler.”
“Well, Torin,” Orion said in a friendly tone, “How loyal are you to Solego’s cause?”
“Well...” Torin said nervously, “I don’t know much about this so-called ‘cause’...I joined up with the Solego armed forces just so I could learn to fight better...”
“I see...”
Orion thought for a moment.
“Okay, here’s how it’s gonna be, Torry. When you take us to the edge of the settlement, we’re going to take your armor and gear. You’re going to then portal yourself to the nearest town you know, and lay low for awhile. I can sense that you’re not a bad guy, and you seem smart enough to realize that Solego is an evil bastard when certain facts are brought to light.”
“For example, do you know why the Almarid settlement was wiped out?”
Torin blinked again. “Um...we were told that Brian Almarid and his Elite were conspiring against us and had to be made an example of.”
“That’s only partly true. The main reason is, Brian Almarid had something, and Solego wanted it.”
“And are you, Torin Wheeler, aware that less than a week ago, Solego had Zalma Almarid assassinated?”
Torin gulped again. “I...had no idea.”
Orion lowered his sword and extended his hand to the soldier.
“Are out terms acceptable to you?”
Getting off the ground, Torin simply said “Yes.”
“Good. Start conjuring a portal.”
“Wait!” Ganni said. “We really SHOULD inform Datharel somehow.”
Orion sighed. “You’re right....Torin, do you know where the Datharel settlement is?”
The Space Adept shook his head.
“Damn. Hmm...wait a minute...” Orion quickly dug into his pocket and pulled out a small red charm. “Perfect!”
He chanted a few words, and a the charm emitted a burst of red light, and a moment later, a small fireball was floating near Orion’s head.
“What...is that?” Ganni said, awestruck.
“It’s a Willowisp.”
“Not THAT....that pendant!”
“Oh, this?” Orion said casually, holding up the now-colorless charm. “It’s called a spellbinder...picked it up in Kaimore. A lesser spirit can be bound to it and resummoned at a moment’s notice.”
The Fire Adept diverted his attention to the fireball and whispered to it. In a moment, it darted off.
“It’s going to head to the Datharel settlement and inform him of recent happenings. Now, we’d better get moving. Torin, do your thing.”
The soldier nodded and put his hands together. A familiar ball of energy came to life between them, and Torin thrust it forward, and in moments the orb expanded into a portal.
Swallowing their fear, Orion and Ganni stepped into the portal, to face whatever may lie beyond.
*************************************************
I LOVE each and every bit of feedback you all give me! Tell me what you think, and leave me reviews at Fictionpress!Sorry about not commenting for a while, I’ll do it now however 
It really shows that you’re getting somewhere in your writing, it’s evulating as you go. Great job!
Another couple of great chapters, GG. Please keep them coming!
MORE DAMMNIT MORE!!!
Originally posted by Sephiroth Hayes
MORE DAMMNIT MORE!!!
What they said. Great story. Elements! Yay! :yipee:
It is a very nice story. There are a number of moments when I can’t help but chuckle, and the action in that last chapter was rather good. The tournement seemed a bit condensed, but if you’d gone in to much detail, I’d still be reading.
The biggest issue I have with the story is that everyone uses slang. It was a bit humorous in the prelude, but the use of the word “anywho” in place of “anyhow” or “anyway” is a little iritating, especially when none of those words are needed. Also, I don’t want to knit-pick on your grammer, but at one point Lady Zalma (I believe) said “Me and Datharel will protect the remaining artifacts with our lives.” It should be Datharel and I. In another situation I would have ignored it, but someone who is in such a position ought to have proper grammer.
I also thought the part about the kid with the drinking problem was a bit sappy, but that’s personal preference.
I must like it though, because I’ve read it all through. Is Spencer Boilseed based off of General Leo? (“If we weren’t enemies, we could be good friends”)
Accualy, I almost never make similatities to existing characters conciously.
And I think I use the word Anywho a lot in this beacause I use this word a lot when I’m talking, and I’m just used to it. ^_^;
Hey there, loyal fans. I know it’s been awhile… ^_^;
Seeing as it’s been so long, I’m going to post now to tell you that I have a chapter done, and I’ll post it as soon as my editor gets done with it.
I’m hoping you people havn’t forgotton about me yet. :hahaha;
You have forsaken meh ;_:
MORE DAMMNIT MORE.
How could I refuse such a polite request?
CHAPTER X
Into the Fire
The three adepts stepped out of the portal, and found themselves on the edge of the Solego settlement. It was a bit larger than Datharel, and looked quite similar, but it FELT very different. It was as if there was an aura of gloom and fear in the air. And looming in the distance was the colossal Solego Temple. Datharel Temple was a log cabin in comparison.
“I don’t know how you two are going to pull this off,” said Torin, “but I wish you the best of luck. If you want to sneak in, there’s an emergency exit on the southern wall, and it’s hardly ever guarded.”
Torin quickly turned around, raises his hands, and the image on the other side of the portal shifted and changed. Torin stepped through it, and it faded away.
Orion and Ganni looked at eachother.
“Did you just get a feeling of impending doom?” Ganni said in a surprisingly calm tone.
“Oh, is that what it is? I thought it was just some bad berries.”
Ganni let out a long sigh. “I don’t know HOW you can make jokes at a time like this, Orion.”
“Me neither. Now, c’mon, lets get going. Act casual.”
“We should probably slip into our mage robes…they’ve got hoods. We’ll attract less attention.”
They slipped behind a nearby tree and changed into their black mage robes, discarding the traveler’s clothes they had been wearing.
Moving slowly, as not to attract attention, they made their way to the temple. More and more, they felt a gloomy presence. Most of the people they saw seemed to give off an aura of misery.
“Not a very lively looking place.” Said Orion under his breath.
“Can you blame them?” Ganni said back. “Solego is a tyrant…he’d slaughter these people just as easily as he’d look at them. You couldn’t throw a rock five feet without hitting someone who wants him dead.”
Meanwhile, deep within the dungeons built into the temple, six young mages were in a small barred room. There were no guards. Instead, the prisoners were watched by several omnipresent Tocks. Anyone with half a brain knew not to try and escape. Even if they could somehow unlock the doors or get past the solid steel bars, the Tocks would see them instantly and alert someone.
Every single prisoner was wearing an identical circlet. These circlets were called Sealers, and not only could they only be removed by whoever put them on, they stopped the wearer from using magic in any form.
Maya was killing time by watching Vixx nervously pace. After about ten minutes of this, she finally said “Would you stop pacing already?”
“I can’t help it.” The Light Adept said nervously. “Solego is well-know for hating Gnomes...as soon as he gets bored, I just KNOW he’s gonna torture me. I think I’m going to soil myself...”
“Please don’t.” came the voice of a green-eyed Dwarf who was sitting in the corner. “This place already smells like dust and mold. We don’t need it to get any worse.”
Maya turned her attention to Karen, who was leaning on the side bars, looking into the next cell.
“What’re you doing?” asked Maya.
“Oh, nothing in particular...just waiting to die.”
Maya got up and walked over to Karen. “I can’t believe this. Karen ‘The Eternal Optimist’ Tarr is just going to lie down and wait for them to kill us.”
Karen sighed sadly. “What’s the point? What can we do?”
“Orion and Ganni weren’t caught...they’ll get help! They’ll get us out somehow.”
“Perhaps...”
The winged girl was suddenly distracted by some movement in a nearby cell. “Hey, look...” she said.
They peered into the cell next to theirs, and saw a person covered in one of the flimsy blankets that were in the cells. The person was completely covered in the blanket, head included. Only a pair of feet poked out.
“Huh...that’s odd. One of those feet is missing a toe.” Karen observed.
Something about that rang a bell in Maya’s memory. She looked closer, and sure enough, the left foot didn’t have a pinky toe.
“It COULDN’T be...” she thought out loud.
She looked around for something on the ground, and found a small stone. She picked it up and banged it against one of the bars.
“YOW!” came a voice from under the blanket. “Will you keep it down?! I’m hoping that I’ll just die in my sleep, and I’d very much like to do so quiently!”
The man under the blanket sat up, and though his hair was orange instead of the green she remembered, it was doubtlessly him.
“BEEKON?!”
The thief blinked several times. “Oh, hey! You’re the Mer that went after Mox! I’d ask how you were doing, but I think the answer is kinda obvious...”
“How did you get in here?” Karen asked.
Beekon groaned. “Ah, me an’ Mox were getting’ tired of the whole thief deal, so we were gonna pull on last big heist, buy a nice piece of land somewhere remote, and live happily ever after. Or some crap like that.”
“So, you and Mox were...” said Maya inquisitively.
“An item? Yup, for years. Anywho, me an’ her, you know we got this whole ‘honorable thief” thing goin’ on, so we decided to crack open Solego’s vault...we both knew that the rat-bastard had it comin’. An’ we almost pulled it off, too. But unfortunately, a Tock came by and gave us away...so here I am. Mox is in a different cell block.”
“Well...that sucks.” Said Breaker, stepping forward.
“You bet it does.” Beekon responded.
“If you don’t mind me asking,” said Vixx, joining the conversation, “what happened to your hair? Wasn’t it green before?”
“Yup. I dye it regularly so people can’t identify me as easaly. But this is my natural hair color, and yes, I really AM a Mystic.”
After saying this, Beekon tilted his head and said “Hey...that Elf boy don’t look so good.”
Alex was curled up in a fetal position in the corner, trembling and mumbling incoherently.
“Whoa,” Karen said, “I don’t know what kind of bug he caught, but it seems to be getting worse. And this dungeon can’t be helping.”
“Bug?” asked Beekon politely.
“Yeah,” the Aven responded. “He’s been kinda sick the past few days, but never this bad.”
Beekon scratched his head and took a good, long look at Alex.
“You know...I don’t want to make any accusations here, but...it looks like that kid is goin’ through some sort of withdrawal.”
Breaker raised an eyebrow. “Withdrawal? But...he hasn’t been taking anything addictive...has he?”
With this statement, Maya looked away and suddenly found a very interesting spot on the wall. She looked elsewhere when she realized it was probably blood.
“The Mer knows somethin’.” Breaker said casually.
“What?” Maya said. “No...I don’t...”
“Don’t lie to me, girl.” Said the orange-headed Mystic with a sly grin. “I can tell when someone’s hiding something. It’s a gift. Whatever you know could be crucial to this boy’s health...so spill it.”
Maya opened her mouth and tried to speak, but couldn’t get it out. She bit her lip and turned away.
Karen put her hand on Maya’s shoulder, and nodded reassuringly when she look back.
“Alex...he...he was...”
Pause.
“Until recently...Alex was...taking shade oil...”
No-one spoke, but they each wore an expression that clearly shouted “What in the nine bloody hells did she just say?!”
The only one who didn’t look surprised was Beekon.
“That’s what I thought it might be, he’s displaying a few of the symptoms I’ve seen from ex-shadeys,” the orange-headed Mystic said , using the slang term for shade oil addicts.
“Why didn’t you TELL us?!” Karen shouted at Maya.
“Well, it’s not exactly the kind of thing that one usually wants spread around!” Maya retorted.
“Hey, calm down, you two.” Beekon interrupted. “I think you have bigger things to worry about.”
He picked up the shabby blanket he was using to cover himself and passed it through the bars.
“Here,” he said, “give him this. That should help.”
“Thank you.” said Maya. She took the blanket, walked over to Alex’s corner, and gently put it over him.
In another area of the temple, Solego himself was in a private meeting with two of his Elite, Olrik Tacker and Spencer Boilseed.
“So you managed to recover the Necronomicon?” the pale-skinned Omni asked.
“Yes we did, sir.” Tacker responded. “But as you know, it did not go perfectly. There were witnesses to the assassination.”
“Yes, this much I know.” Solego said in a slightly angered tone. “Those Datharel brats. You captured them all, right?”
“No, sir.” Spencer said. “Two of them evaded capture by pure dumb luck. They shouldn’t pose a threat…there’s no way they could warn Datharel in time.”
Solego let out a dark chuckle. “You should never underestimate these kids, Spencer. But this is not a huge problem…regardless, we must accelerate our plans…we have to recover the Hyperion as soon as possible! We may need to be a bit more discreet about it…at this time, we still cannot unleash all we have on Datharel.”
“I thought you might say that, sir.” Tacker said. “I think I have a plan…”
Back in the cell, time seemed to move slower than a drunken snail.
Everyone present jumped a little when they heard the heavy metal door at the end of the room open. They all looked and saw a Human woman with short, black hair and eyes that matched. Almost ever in the room identified her as Lazear, the summoner who had beaten Davan at the tourney in Kaimore. Accompanying her was a guard.
She stepped in front of the cell holding that Datherel Adepts, and addressed them.
“Hello, children.” She said in a condescending tone. “You are all here because you saw something you shouldn’t have. And we do not like that. The only reason you all are still in one piece is because we think some of you may know some things that we need to know. So some of you are going to be tortured for information.”
“Well, what if we don’t know anything, huh? Then what?” shouted Breaker in a fiery tone.
“Then I’m just going to torture you for the fun of it.” Lazear replied with a calm smile.
Maya shot Breaker nasty look, and he shut up instantly.
“I’m not going to lie to you.” The Dark adept continued. “I am a sadist. I enjoy nothing more than watching someone writhe in pain. To me, the furious look in a victim’s eyes is sweeter than wine, and their screams of agony are simply orgasmic. But if you cooperate, I may just go easy on you.”
“So, who wants to go first?”
The room was silent.
Lazear turned her eyes onto the quivering mass of blanket that was Alex.
“What’s up with him?” she said. It couldn’t be more blindingly obvious that she didn’t care.
“He’s...sick.” Maya said.
first!”
“Oh, really?” Lazear responded in a tone that Maya didn’t like at all.
She turned her gaze back to Alex for several moments, smiled evilly, and was about to say something, when Maya shouted “I’ll go! Take me Ever gaze in the room immediately fell on Maya.
“You sure about that, little girl?” Lazear said with a raised eyebrow.
“Very.” Maya responded in a defiant tone.
“Very well. Come with me.”
The guard unlocked the door, grabbed Maya by the arm, and led her out of the room.
As they were leaving, Alex rolled over and tried to right himself, weakly crying “Maya...no...”, but his cries fell on deaf ears.
“This is NOT going to work.”
“Oh, have a little faith, Ganni. What’s the worst that could happen?”
“Do you REALLY want me to answer that?”
“No.”
Draped in black cloaks, Orion and Ganni were making their way through the thick brush surrounding Solego Temple.
They eventually found the rear gate that Torin had mentioned. In front of said gate was a figure draped in a black cloak, skeletal hands clutching a staff.
“Is that…”
“Yup. It’s a Watcher.”
The Orc groaned. “Well, how do we get past it? I’ve heard plenty of things about Watchers, none of them good for us. They can stand watch for…”
“Centuries, I know. And it’s almost impossible to get past them.”
“I notice you said ‘almost.’”
“Well, yes…there’s only one way to get past a watcher.”
“And that is?”
“To slowly approach it and ask for permission to pass.”
Ganni immediately turned his head in Orion’s direction. “You have GOT to be kidding me…” he said in an exasperated tone.
Orion shook his head. “I kid you not. If he deems one of us worthy to pass, then we both get in, no problem.”
“And if we’re not worthy?”
“We die instantly.”
Ganni sighed. “WHAT?!”
“SHHH! Keep it down! Don’t worry, I’ll do it. This was all my idea.”
“Are you NUTS? Can’t we just find another way in?”
“No time…don’t worry about it.”
“I AM worried about it! I don’t want to watch my best friend die right before my eyes while I it back and wait for something to happen!”
The next few moments passed in silence.
“I have to. Listen…if I don’t make it…save Maya for me. Promise me that.”
“I will. I promise. Is there anything I should know if I need to get by?”
“Just remember this: Approach him slowly, introduce yourself formally and politely, and most importantly of all, BE PATIENT. If it takes him hours to decide if you’re worthy, you wait for hours. And move as little as possible.”
Without another word, Orion slowly walked up to the watcher. When he was within a foot of it, he spoke.
“I am Orion Dekar, Fire Adept of Clan Datharel. I humbly request safe passage for me and my companion.”
The Watcher said nothing, nor did it move at all. Neither did Orion.
Five minutes passed. Then ten. Then fifteen. Time seemed to slow down for Ganni.
Then, after exactly thirty-six minutes, the watcher slowly stepped aside.
Orion bowed, said “Thank you.”, and gestured for Ganni to follow.
They found themselves in what looked like a storeroom. There were lots of wooden boxes stacked on top of eachother, and in the corner was a large number of sacks filled with potatoes. At the other side of the room was an open doorway.
“It’s quiet…TOO quiet…” Ganni said, his black eyes wary.
“I wish there was some way we could get a look around without being detected…we need a map or something.”
Ganni thought for a moment, the smiled and said “I don’t know about a map…but I know a way we can look around.”
The Dark Adept walked over to an empty wall, and said “Orion…make a small fire here. Just enough to light this place better.”
Orion nodded, then held up his hand. In a moment, it was full of crackling fire. The light from the fire cast a huge shadow of Ganni on the wall.
Ganni sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes, obviously concentrating.
Minutes flew by and nothing happened.
Orion opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Ganni’s shadow on the wall shimmered a bit, then started moving. The Shadow-Ganni shot Orion a thumbs-up. Orion’s eyes widened.
“You DIDN’T!”
If the shadow had a mouth, Orion was sure it would be smiling.
The shadow swiftly moved along the wall and out the open door.
Animating one’s shadow was one of the most difficult tricks in the Dark Adept’s book. Ganni’s shadow moved as swiftly as the wind, projecting everything it saw and heard into Ganni’s mind.
Whenever someone came walking by, it simply darted into the nearest dark corner and became invisible.
The shadow moved quickly from room to room, searching desperately for any trace of the other Adepts.
Suddenly, it’s shadowy ears picked up a voice from another room.
“Men of Clan Solego, the world soon shall be ours!”
It followed the voice and found itself in a large hall.
On a raised platform at the end of the room stood Adrian Solego, flanked by some of the Solego Elite, and two mysterious figures that Ganni thought he recognized. Solego was addressing a room filled with about a hundred soldiers.
To the left of Solego’s platform was a large box-shaped thing covered by a velvet curtain.
Flanking Solego were several robed figures that Ganni didn’t recognize, and a black-haired woman and a man in a gray coat who he did.
Solego started speaking again, and the shadow listened.
“We have been doing well, but we must accelerate our plans. As many of you know, several days ago we acquired the Necronomicon!”
The soldiers cheered. Solego raised his hand to silence them.
“I had originally planned to acquire the Hyperion by brute force, but Datharel would be expecting that. So I and the commanders of the Solego Armed Forces have come up with a new plan.”
“You will all be portaled to the edge of the Datharel settlement by the Space Adept of the Solego Elite, Bing Arkon.”
He gestured to a purple-eyed elf standing beside him.
“You will enter the settlement under the guise of bandits. You are to give me mass confusion. Make noise, destroy property, steal stuff. Anything to get everyone’s attention. To aid you with this will be these.”
Solego waved his hand, and with a purple flash of his eyes, the velvet curtain flew off the box-shaped object, which was revealed to be a large cage containing a pair of sleeping trolls.
Trolls were humanoid in shape, but that’s where the similarities ended. Eight feet tall, with bulging muscles, rock-like skin and no hair whatsoever, your average troll is stronger than a bull and almost as smart.
“Take the cages with you, and release these somewhere. Trolls do not like cramped spaces, and thusly, they should wake up quite angry.”
“With everyone distracted, we will have the perfect opportunity to take the Hyperion. And that’s where these two come in.”
Two figures stepped forward, confirming what Ganni had only suspected before. Standing on either side of Solego was the woman in the black dress who had murdered Zalma Arianos, and the mysterious man who had taken a shot at Orion.
“For those of you who don’t know, these two are Nightshade and Phantasm, my personal assassins. They will not speak to you, so don’t ask them to.”
“If you all do your job right, they can slip in and take the Hyperion unnoticed. You are to be deployed immediately.”
“Arkon, start the portal.”
If Ganni was in his body, he would have gulped. He didn’t stick around...he decided that he’d best find where the others were being held and get back to his body as quickly as possible.
As soon as they had left the room, Lazear tied a blindfold around Maya’s head. For what seemed like hours, Maya was lead blindly through a labyrinth of corridors.
When they finally stopped, Maya wondered where she was taken.
She felt herself being picked up and placed down on some sort of table.
She heard Lazear’s voice say “Alright, you may leave.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The guard responded. Maya heard footsteps leaving and a heavy door being closed.
Several minutes later, Maya’s blindfold was taken off, and a leather gag was stuffed in her mouth. She was bound to a cold stone table at her wrists and ankles. Maya’s heart jumped when she felt herself move. The table was tilting forward.
In moments, Maya’s body was almost completely vertical, and she could get a good look at the room. It was a small room, with stone walls and floors, completely empty except for several crystal lamps adorning the walls.
In the center of the room stood Lazear. She wore a pair of tight black pants made of some unknown material, and had no shirt on. In her right hand, she help a short scepter topped with a glowing jewel.
“Tell me, little girl.” Lazear said in a spookily calm tone. “Have you ever been struck by lightning?”
It was quite a strange question, but Maya, figuring it would be best to cooperate, shook her head no.
“Neither have I,” the Dark Adept responded “but I’ve heard it’s quite unpleasant. But I know someone who has been. Talon Giero, Sky Adept of the Solego Elite. As it is part of his element, he says it’s actually a nice feeling for him. And as you probably know, well-trained Sky Adepts can channel electrical energy. With this knowledge, people all over Arroyo have been trying to think up ways to harness it as a power source. They haven’t came up with much so far, but Talon was able to make THIS for me.”
She twirled the scepter in his hand several times.
“Now…let’s test this little thing out, shall we?”
Lazear approach Maya and ripped off some of her clothes with her free hand, leaving her in a pair of shorts and a light sleeveless shirt with holes cut over her gills.
With a chuckle, Lazear touched the glowing rod to Maya’s shoulder.
Several sparks flew from it, and what happened next was all a blur in Maya’s mind.
She felt the electricity running through her body. It felt like she was being slowly burned from the inside.
After sixteen seconds that felt like an eternity, Lazear removed the rod.
“How did that feel? Did it hurt?” she said in a mock-concerned tone.
“You probably don’t want me to do that again.”
Lazear reach forward with her left hand and removed the gag.
“Now, if you beg me for mercy, I might just go easy on you.”
Maya looked straight into the older woman’s eyes and spit at her.
Lazear quickly wiped her face and said “Now, THAT wasn’t nice. I’m going to have to punish you now.”
She stuffed the gag back in her mouth and reapplied the rod.
After about forty seconds, she withdrew it once more. Maya was drenched in sweat.
“Now, I’m going to lay off for a few moments and give you a chance to recover. Enjoy it while it lasts. If you’re lucky, you’ll be dead by sunrise.”
“Although, judging from recent events, you haven’t been very lucky so far…”
“You have GOT to be kidding me. They’re stealing the Hyperion TONIGHT?”
“Yup.”
“...dammit, all we can do at this point is hope my Willowisp got to Datharel in time.”
“Well, the good news is, I found the cell. It’s being guarded by Tocks, though...”
“Tocks are lesser elementals. I can easily dispel them.”
“C’mon, let’s get the others and get the hell out of here.”
“I hear you.”
Ganni grabbed Orion’s arm and bolted for the door to the storeroom, then stopped and peeked out the door.
“I’ll take point.” The Orc said. “I got a pretty good look around. The cells are nearby.”
Orion quickly found out that all the rumors about Solego Temple were true. Even on the inside, it was very fortress-like, and he was certain he could hear faint screams from behind certain doors.
Ganni led him to a large door with a big lock on it.
“This is it.” said Ganni.
Orion pressed her ear to the door, and said. “I can hear ticking. There’s definitely Tocks in there.”
He put his hand on the large padlock and said, “I’m going to melt the lock. As soon as it opens, cast a spell of banishing as quickly as possible. If you do it before we’re noticed, it should work. Got it?”
“Got it.”
“On three. One...two...”
“Wait. Is it ON three, or is it ‘One, two three, go?’”
Orion sighed. “ON three. Now, ready?”
“Yes.”
“One...two...THREE!”
The lock melted off and Orion kicked the door open. As soon as that happened, Ganni yelled “Expello!”
There was a bright flash and the Tocks faded away.
A voice shouted “Orion?!”
Orion turned to the cell and saw Breaker up against the bars.
“We’ve come to rescue you?”
The Dwarf grinned. “Sweet!”
Orion walked over to the bars and tried to melt some of them, but couldn’t.
“Don’t bother.” Vixx said. “The bars are made of enchanted Mythril.”
Ganni stepped up to the cell door and said “Enchanted or not, they still have a normal lock on it.”
He reached into a pocket and withdrew a slim, pointed piece of metal and started working on the lock.
Orion looked around and suddenly noticed something.
“Er...where’s Maya?”
“M-Maya...” came a voice from the corner. Orion looked and saw Alex sitting in the corner, wrapped in a blanket and shivering. He weakly stooped up and walked slowly to Orion.
“Sweet Luna, are you okay, man?”
“N-Nevermind me.” The Elf said weakly. “They t-t-took Maya.”
Orion’s eyes widened. “WHAT?! WHERE?!”
“L-Lazear...” Alex went on “The women who b-b-beat Davan at the Kaimore arena...she was g-going to...torture us for information. She wanted to tame me, b-b-but Maya...she...she...”
The Fire Adept snarled angrily. “Where did she take her?!”
Alex pointed to the other door and said “Th-th-that way. Hurry...”
Without another word, Orion took ran for the door. He yanked at the handle, but it wouldn’t open. He let out a frustrated growl and thrust his arms forward. A huge burst of blame erupted from his hands and tore down the door. Orion took off like greased lightning.
Consumed by blinding rage, Orion ran though the corridors somewhat randomly, calling Maya’s name.
He came to a corridor where some guards were patrolling. Needless to say, they quickly noticed him, and sensing the hostility that Orion was radiating, they drew their weapons and shouted at Orion to freeze.
Orion simply raised his hands and send forth two huge jets of flame, incinerating two of the guards instantly. He rushed forward and grabbed the other guard by the throat, picking him up.
“WHERE’S MAYA?!” he shouted.
The guard gulped. “You mean that Merwoman of Datharel that we captured?
Er...Lazear took her into...the...”
The guard froze, seeming to not want to continue.
“WHERE?!” Orion shouted, more forcefully than before, raising his hand to toast the guard
“Lazear’s torture chamber! Next corridor, sixth door on the right!” the guard yelled.
Even angrier than before, Orion forcefully hurled the guard aside and into the wall and took off in the direction he had indicated.
The sixth door was bigger than the others. Orion quickly melted it away, revealing Maya – strapped to a table, convulsing violently while a topless woman held some sort of rod to her chest.
Orion sent out a fireball at the woman, who, without even looking to him, raised her hand and deflected it.
“I heard you coming a mile away, boy.” Lazear said.
“This little tart must mean something to you, eh? Well, you picked a good one...no matter how hard I torture her, she just won’t submit. She’s almost taking all the fun out of it, really. I think I’ll just snuff her out now...”
“NO!” Orion shouted as he send out another flame jet.
Lazear deflected it again, this time turning to him.
“Boy, you have no idea WHO you are dealing with.”
She waved her hand and several dark energy bolts flew at Orion, knocking him back with a deadly amount of force.
Maya gasped when she saw Orion’s lifeless form hit the ground.
“Bah!” Lazear said in a disappointed tone, turning back to Maya. “I was REALLY hoping he’d last longer.”
“Well, I would HATE to disappoint a pretty lady such as you.”
Came a sarcastic voice from behind her.
“What the hell?!” she exclaimed, turning around to find Orion standing beside her. “No-one should have been able to survive that!!”
Orion didn’t respond.
Lazear raised her hands to cast another spell, but before she could, Orion charged forward, his whole body bursting into flame.
The flaming specter that was Orion slammed into Lazear, crushing her against the wall.
When she hit the floor, Orion looked down at her. For some unknown reason, her body showed very few signs of burns, but she was out cold.
Orion gave her a firm kick, then walked over to Maya, burned off her restraints, and embraced her tightly.
“I knew you’d come for me...” Maya said, her eyes tearing up.
“I promise,” Orion said to her, “As long as I live, I will never let anyone hurt you again.”
“Awww, how sweet.” said a cold voice from behind them.
They looked and saw a man in black robes, with pale skin, white hair and gray eyes.
“We’ve never formally met, have we.” said the man. “Permit me to introduce myself. I am Adrian Solego, and you and your friends have angered me. And as you could imagine, a man such as myself tends to be quite unpleasant when angered.”
Solego held out his hands. His eyes shifted to purple and a portal opened behind Orion and Maya. He then gestured, and Orion and Maya were shoved into the portal.
After a surprisingly short fall, Orion hit a hard surface and blacked out.
*********************************************
Enjoy!