《Blazing Translocation》


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 CH:1 - Light in a dark tunnel..

    Hey I havent PRed this yet or edited, but I wanted to put something up aside from the little teaser I have. Please give your honest opinions on what you thought was well done or what you think I should improve on. Thanks


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    --Prelude--(Read like its being narrated. the rest of the story is in first person)


    Blake Lambet was a normal guy, he wasn¡¯t too lazy, and he wasn¡¯t too active, if anything was wrong with him at all, it would have been the fact that, as an individual, he had very little ambition.


    He lived in a nice little town in the middle of nowhere located in beautiful British Columbia, or BC for short. Nothing interesting ever happened and he was more or less bored out of his mind all the time. Until that fateful night¡­


    Standing out in his back yard on a beautiful moonless night while waiting for his dog Benjie to finish his business, he couldn¡¯t help but look up to the wonderful nighttime sky. To his amazement, he spotted a comet streaking above his head! Where did that come from!? He hadn¡¯t heard anything in the news about a comet! As he stared at it with wonder, he couldn¡¯t help but feel something strange as he looked at the comet, that seemed to be growing larger, or were his eyes playing tricks on him?


    It didn¡¯t take long for him to notice that it wasn¡¯t a comet at all, but alas he didn¡¯t figure it out fast enough, as a ball of molten rock and fire smashed down upon his head, (which by the way, was making an Oh Shit kind of face at that point in time) making a crater the size of a baseball field where his house used to be. And he had just installed air conditioning too¡­ oh well.


    And that was the end of Blake Lambet¡¯s life in beautiful British Columbia and the start of his story¡­


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    ¡°Aaaaaaaaaaahh!¡±


    The scream echoed throughout the dark, damp cave, it was the scream of a man who was about to die, a man whom fate had cheated.


    Or so he thought.


    ***


    Finally I ran out of breath and slowly came to my senses. It was dark, too dark to see properly, but there was a faint light coming from somewhere behind me. Taking deep breaths to steady my rampaging heart I finally looked around and tried to focus my eyes, I then noticed that I was lying on my back and it was becoming uncomfortable so I sat up right. Finally I began to see more clearly, but what I could see confused me even more than the darkness.


    I was in some kind of cave; the air smelt like damp earth and there were dripping sounds echoing in the darkness. I looked behind me and what I saw confused me even more than my location, there was a football shaped violet crystal, propped up between a stalagmite and a stalactite perfectly like some kind of alter. It gave off a faint light, the only light in the circular, dome like cave.


    A lot of thoughts were assaulting me at once, where was I? How did I get here? What¡¯s with that creepy crystal light bulb? The last thing a remembered was coming home after a long day, and my dog asking out, I went outside with him since the gate was broken and he might have made a break for it.


    As I was standing there trying not to look at him doing his thing, because he always gave me a glare whenever I looked at him. I saw a brilliant orange comet and then¡­ it hit me, literally, shouldn¡¯t I be dead? Or was all that just some fucked up dream. But if that¡¯s true than how the hell did I get here?!


    I stood and found it was hard to keep my balance, like I hadn¡¯t moved for a very long time. wobbling slightly over to the only source of light in the cave I inspected it a bit more closely, using the stalagmite to hold most of my weight. As I looked into to depths of the gem I could just faintly make out a swirling, cloud like substance inside.


    My reflection was visible, it was difficult to make out my dark blue eyes or the color of my auburn hair, but I could clearly see my smooth square jaw and somewhat pale skin, though it was tinted violet in the reflection, there were scrapes here and there, but nothing seemed to be broken or gauged out, not that I felt pain like that, but it was reassuring none the less to see I was fine.


    Perhaps too curious for my own good, I went to touch the over sized gem but as soon as my fingers brushed against the surface, the swirling cloud, or whatever it was, began to move much faster, and the light increased ten fold.


    Quickly, I pulled away but noticed small cracks beginning to form along its previously pristine surface. The room began to rumble and shake, I fell on my butt and covered my eyes to shield them against the sudden bright light.


    ¡®CRSSSSHRRSSHHH! BAAAANG!!¡¯


    The crystal suddenly exploded from within and something heavy hit me; it was warm and panting furiously, when I lowered my arms I saw a small Black Lab sitting comfortably on my lap.


    ¡°Benjie!?¡±


    The small Black Lab licked my face like nothing had even happened! You could at least act like your surprised you mutt! Wait! Did you just jump out from that weird gem?! I glanced around franticly looking for the gem, it wasn¡¯t hard to find, or rather ¡®they¡¯ weren¡¯t hard to find.


    Scattered around all over were a bunch of small, faintly glowing shards, two were about the size of a fist, and the rest ranged from the size of a fingernail to the size of my big toe! Benjie finally got off me and started licking his¡­ never mind.


    Glancing around I quickly located the pieces and  gathered up all the small gems, I was hesitant at first, not knowing if they would blow up again and shoot out my mother, unlikely as that was... I wasn¡¯t taking any chances. finally I built up the courage to touch them again, there no longer was a murky cloud like substance in them, but still they gave off a faint light.


    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.I figured I would need that if I ever wanted to get out of this cave, they were, after all, the only light I had.


    There were two tunnels that lead out of the room, one to the right and one to the left, two choices... I suck at guessing games... Looking at Bengie, who was sitting there panting like an idiot I said in a somewhat exasperated voice.


    ¡°Alright boy, choose a tunnel with that magnificent nose of yours and go get help!¡± giving him a glare that brooked no argument.


    Benjie just tilted his head a bit and then came to sit next to me, If only I had trained you to do something other than eat sleep and wake me up for work and morning walks!


    With an exaggerated sigh I chose left, there were only two options, one or both could be right. Benjie followed me, sometimes running up ahead and sometimes staying to smell something interesting, but he kept pace with me most of the time. At least I wasn¡¯t walking alone in the dark, having my faithful, yet painfully useless companion along made me a bit less anxious.


    We were probably walking for about an hour when the tunnel split in two, with a sigh I resigned myself to the fact that nothing was ever easy, and if I wanted to figure out where I was and how I got there I had to find the way out. I chose the left passage, because it was slightly elevated and I hoped that meant up and out, what can I say, I¡¯m no miner, and my grades in geography¡­ well I cant even find Africa on a map without labels.


    We were walking along like usual, there wasn¡¯t anything to see except stone, and Ben wasn¡¯t much for talking. When suddenly Ben started to growl, I looked at him curiously, hoping that he wasn¡¯t hungry¡­ I know their mans best friend and all, but I was pretty hungry, and he was starting to look delicious.


    Something flashed slightly in the corner of my eye and I noticed a slight reflection up ahead, the mystery gem (which is what I decided to call it) reflected off of something. I cautiously approached and Ben slowly followed, but kept on growling for some reason.


    The object was on the ground, it looked like a large crystal formation¡­ what is it was this cave and jewels? it''s a treasure trove down here! As I got closer to it Ben started to bark and I turned around to shut him up, but before one word left my mouth something hit my abdomen, hard, I quickly looked down and saw the object of my recent stomach pain.


    That crystal wasn¡¯t a crystal at all! Sprawled out before me was a meter long armadillo like creature, its shell was made out of that spikey jagged crystal material, it had a rodent like head, but with huge fangs that protruded outside its mouth.


    ¡°What the fuck is that!?¡± I yelled, both surprised and a little ticked off due to getting hurt. When I looked to see how it had attacked me, I saw two well developed hind legs that seemed both powerful and agile. It must have head butted me, what a jerk!


    The armadillo creature rolled up into a ball and began rolling towards me at tackling speed! Just before it reached me, it suddenly bounced once, twice and then hit my thigh as I tried to get away from it.


    The jagged spikes tore at my jeans and actually ripped them in several places, making shallow cuts along my skin. Thank god for Denim, because it gave just enough resistance to make the wound a shallow one. The little bastard veered off course and hit the wall, serves him right!


    It uncoiled itself to catch its bearings. unfortunately for the little monster though, it didn¡¯t have a lot of time, because Ben jumped it from the side and bit down on its whip like tail, hard.


    ¡°SQEEEEEER!!¡±


    Praising Ben in my mind after seeing him take action... I guess he really was a protective breed after all! the creature didn¡¯t like being bitten very much and tried to bite Ben, but I regained my composure before it could. I kicked it so hard it flipped over, and then Ben went for its neck. The squealing thing finally died and I was left panting and shocked beyond belief. What the fuck just happened?!


    I¡¯ve never in my whole life heard of a rodent that wore a crystalline shell. Especially one that looks like an overgrown armadillo! Ben was busy lapping up the blood and even started eating some of the exposed flesh. I thought I should stop him, but realized my own hunger then, If I wasn¡¯t so worried about whatever that meat would do to me, I might have eaten it too.


    With that in mind, I took out one of the fist sized crystal fragments that had a sharp edge to it and cut the creatures tail off. If nothing worrisome happed to Ben, I would at least get a bit to eat... Also, that shell looks sturdy and the spikes were sharp, if I run into another of these little jerks I should be prepared.


    Using the loose strips of fabric from my jeans to bind my cuts, and then sat down while I watched Ben have at it like he was polishing off a huge marrowbone. That animal was not normal; I just hoped there weren¡¯t many more of the little bastards.


    It took Ben a while to clean out his new chew toy, while he did that, I started to think up what I believed were plausible reasons for my current predicament. The last thing I remembered was a meteor getting too close for comfort, and then, I realized I was screwed. Then blank, nothing, nadda, next thing I knew I was in this odd cave screaming my ass off.


    Maybe the impact blew me into a hidden cave or something? but that didn''t seem right at all, I should be dead, I knew that I was going to die the moment I realized what was headed my way... "Gaah! nothing makes sense, maybe Hell is a cave and I''m stuck in it!" Ben stopped cleaning out the shell to look puzzled at me but soon lost interest.


    "sigh" At least we avoided eating each other.


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    Fiction Page</a>

 CH:2 - I smell hope

    I only did a quick PR, if you see any mistakes please let me know. Let me know what you like about my story, as well as what you dislike. Thanks for your support.


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    My eyes opened slowly; the first thing I see of course is stone. It¡¯s been¡­ well I don¡¯t know, a day? Two days? Time really doesn¡¯t have any meaning in this place. I¡¯ve slept twice, so I¡¯ll go with two days, at first I was afraid to sleep, who knows what might happen if I lost consciousness in this place. But then I remembered I¡¯m with a dog, and if he hears or sees anything he¡¯ll bark his ass off.


    As I look to my side, Ben is curled up close to me sleeping like a ba- Hey aren¡¯t you supposed to be on guard!? Lazy mutt! .......Ah well¡­ I guess it¡¯s about as safe as it can be. I have to admit, it¡¯s pretty boring here, and I¡¯ve even started talking to myself to relieve the boredom. ¡°he ehhe he, I¡¯m not crazy, not yeeet¡± I say with a goofy smile on my face.


    [Head shake] Be gone crazy thoughts!


    Have to stand up, got to keep moving¡­ ¡°GROWL!¡± shut up stomach I get the picture already! That tail was surprisingly good, kind of stringy like jerky, unfortunately it didn''t last long. As I stand up Ben lifts his head to look at me, I can tell he¡¯s hungry too, that creature ended up being more bone then meat. Which brings me back to another of my current curiosities¡­


    I brought the shell with me, there was still some left over creature meat stuck to it, so Ben had a hay day with it for a while until it was almost spotless inside. The shell is almost turtle like, by that I mean it wraps around to the front. Honestly it looks like an oddly formed shield with small jagged crystals on the outside, they aren¡¯t that sharp, but with enough impact they can make you hurt. I wonder how much it¡¯s worth? Is this real crystal?


    Not that it matters right now; my main priority is getting out of here. I passed by a wall that seemed to be leaking water a ways back and filled the crystal shell with as much as I could¡­ we needed water after all or we¡¯d just die of dehydration, especially with all this damned walking! The water didn¡¯t last very long but it kept our spirits up.


    However the real discovery was one of hope, I could clearly hear water on the other side of the stone and dirt, if I could have, I would have started digging then and there. But it was far too difficult, even Ben with his strange digging addiction couldn¡¯t do anything. So I kept walking, and finally we found a passage going right, the direction we heard it from.


    I¡¯m hoping I can follow the water out of this place, even if I have to swim up stream I think my chances would be better then all this walking aimlessly. Ben is a good swimmer too, so I think he would do fine. He might even enjoy it.


    As I¡¯m walking I start to smell a familiar damp scent¡­ ¡°Water?¡± A bright smile flashes on my face and my once dazed eyes are now wide-awake and full of hope. I look to Ben who is wagging his tail, his tongue hanging out like the dope-head he is, obviously he smelled it first, and was quite excited.


    My pace quickens, but I keep my eyes and ears open, the mystery gems are being held in the shell, it gives off a surprising amount of light, like a lantern¡­ almost. Ben runs ahead, obviously he knows something I don¡¯t about where we¡¯re going. I follow as fast as I can.


    Finally, I come to where the source is, it¡¯s a grand hollowed out cave, with water cascading down from various openings. These openings aren¡¯t very large, but water comes out and falls majestically to the pool below us. Yeah, we are on some circular elevated ground that is about 20m in diameter all around, with a few stone formations here and there leading in and out of the cave in different directions.


    It¡¯s breath taking, and the best part is, LIGHT! Actual light, streaming down through cracks in the ceiling! I couldn¡¯t possibly get through those cracks, but just seeing that we aren¡¯t that far below ground is a godsend. There are multiple pools of water here and there, and by pools I mean the ground is shaped like small natural basins, overflowing with collected water.


    Ben is drinking happily from one of the natural pools; I take after him and fill up my shell. After a good long drink, we are finally satisfied. Though we¡¯re still hungry, one of the things killing us has been dealt with, and that gives me some relief.


    As I look around though, there doesn¡¯t seem to be any streams to follow or holes to climb out of. That¡¯s a bit disheartening, but we¡¯ve been lucky so far, aside from the meteor of course, though we are alive so I suppose that can be counted as luck.


    Looking around in curiosity and trying to find out where we should go next, I gaze down at the great pool of water below us. I never noticed before, since I only glanced at it, but there are bubbles and steam coming from the water¡­ a hot spring? ¡°heheh¡± been a while since I¡¯ve bathed, but I cant go swimming down there, I wont be able to get back up!


    Smiling I look back up and see Ben off to the edge. He¡¯s looking intently at something, I walk over to him, thinking he might have found a fish or something, but I stop as I hear him growling faintly. Before I ignored him and got a beating, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice¡­ aint gunna happen!


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    Slowly I look over at what Ben is so interested in, and in the pool below, I see an object, wait¡­ no¡­ it¡¯s a head, the head of a lizard! It spots me, and then quickly submerges underwater, but not before I got a good look at it. What¡¯s a crocodile doing in a hot spring!?


    Before I can think of an answer I hear splashes coming from where I was before, I quickly run back to see, and what I see shocks me more than any freaky armadillo ever could.


    Climbing out of the water, sticking to the stone with razor sharp claws, are dozens of humanoid crocodiles. Their legs and arms are thin, but obviously dangerous with the four-inch claws attached to them. Their eyes, like glowing yellow orbs of pure hatred are looking at me with hunger evident in them. They aren¡¯t huge creatures, just about five feet long, but their numbers, and obvious ferocity more than makes up for it.


    Ben is barking his head off, trying to scare them off; they didn¡¯t seem to notice and just kept on climbing. ¡°Come on Ben lets GO! NOW!¡± as I start to run for one of the exits I had mentally marked earlier, I didn¡¯t have time to pick and choose which way to go. But as I looked at the exits I found they were surrounded by them, they were climbing on to our level¡­ Did they know I would try to escape?


    Before too many made it to the exits, I chose one and dashed forward. The crocs might have been a bit surprised by my action, since they seemed to stop moving for a moment, but their faces betrayed no emotion. I didn¡¯t know what these bastards were, and I was confused beyond my limits, but more than anything, I knew I had to escape.


    I barreled into one of them before it could react, thankfully they weren¡¯t as lightning fast as the crocodiles I saw on TV, who would react instantly to prey. They seemed to calculate everything, and that was my advantage here, or so I thought.


    The one I hit went flying off the bridge leading to the platform and splashed back into the water below, its climbing friends paid it no heed. I turned to the next three that seemed to have come back from the sudden shock my charge caused.


    One of them lunged at me, it was faster than I thought, I managed to dodge its jaws, but it slashed my arm with its razor sharp claws, drawing blood. ¡°AAargh!¡± the pain was worse than the time with the armadillo¡­ the cut must be deeper. Thankfully the bridge was rather narrow, and the croc over extended itself with its lunge, with one well-placed kick it went back down with the other one.


    The second one was about to attack me while I was kicking its buddy, but then the amazing Ben appeared!! Where the hell were you for the first two! Ben latched on to its waist and surprisingly drew blood, even with the scales. I guess they weren¡¯t very hard¡­ I couldn¡¯t kick the thing down though because Ben might go down with it! My lapse in judgment caused ben to get a gash along his back.


    Anger swelled up in me, and I punched the thing with all my might, right in its scaly chest. Ben had let go due to the pain he received, and the croc only went back a step, enough for me to push with some leverage, it fell, but not before making the last one behind it fall too, cracking it¡¯s head off the wall as it went. ¡°Don¡¯t touch my dog¡­ you scaly son of a-¡°


    Before I could finish I saw even more making their way on to the bridge so I grabbed Bens collar and the shell filled with mystery gems and ran to the exit. We had just passed the threshold, when a searing pain assaulted my right shoulder. One of the wall clingers had seen an opening and bit my shoulder, holding me in place, I screamed in pain and frustration.


    The confusion was gone and in its place was an urge, a NEED to survive! I tried to pry the jaws off but they held too tightly, and I was weak from pain. I felt something well up from inside me, bubbling over the surface.


    ¡°AAAAaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!!¡± All my pain, confusion, my will to survive, burst forth from a yell that echoed all around, drowning out the soft, scratching steps behind me. Then suddenly, a thin wave of blue light shot out around me, slicing anything in half that was at chest level and leaving a burn mark on the wall. I felt the pressure release from me, and was slightly weak in the knees afterward, but I just started running. Ignoring the pain, ignoring the questions, and ignoring the smell of burnt flesh I left behind.


    I must have been running for at least twenty minutes before my stamina finally gave out on me. The adrenalin was running low and I could feel pain all over my body, I fell, propped up against the wall. Ben was behind me; the gash wasn¡¯t that bad, I¡¯m sure it just hurt like hell.


    My shoulder felt odd, heavy, I looked and nearly jumped out of my skin! Still attached to my shoulder was the head of the croc that bit me! Its eyes glaring at me accusingly, I gingerly peeled the thing off my shoulder and threw it at the wall opposite me. A deep exhaustion swallowed me¡­ and I blacked out.


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    Fiction Page</a>

 CH:3 - Lucky Break

    And here is Chapter 3, early release! [th_113_.gif] please remember to rate and comment. your opinions matter to me. :gimme:


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    Dark¡­ it¡¯s dark for as far as I can see. Not the darkness from the cave, no, I¡¯m somewhere else¡­ a place without sound or light. Did I die? Is this the place you go when your life ends? I feel as though I¡¯m floating in nothingness, a complete and unbreakable void. My body seems to be made up of light blue flames, but the measly light can¡¯t possibly cut through the oppressive void that surrounds me.


    I feel week, like I¡¯ve been awake for too long, I¡¯m tired but I can¡¯t sleep here, it feels too unnatural to sleep here. I need to wake up, think happy thoughts. Puppies¡­ a nice hot meal¡­ getting that last yard for a touchdown, Aaahh, those were the days. I was the star running back for my team in high school; I had a good future ahead of me. Then I got that stupid knee injury, ruined everything, I cursed my luck and tried everything to heal it properly¡­


    Sudden warmth enveloped me and I could feel slightly more energized by the second. The flames that made up my body grew brighter, not by much, but the light somehow filled me with hope and confidence. My shoulder began to burn, well my whole body was burning but it was the most intense there... my head hurt, I missed that nice feeling from a moment ago, why don¡¯t I go back to that? I began to see stars and then¡­


    ¡°GUUHaaagh!¡± I gasped for air and my surroundings were once again the familiar rock and dirt of the cave. I had to steady myself and calm my breathing a bit before the searing headache subsided. Then I remembered and inspected my wounds, on my leg, where the crocodile thing had cut me¡­ a white scar, it almost seemed seared shut. It was ugly, but I wasn¡¯t bleeding, confused and curious I inspected my shoulder¡­ not nearly as ugly, but the punctures were sealed in the same fashion.


    ¡°What the hell happened to me?¡± then I remembered Ben, he wasn¡¯t beside me, where did he go? Was he okay? Did he need my help? ¡°Ben! Come here boy!¡± my voice was raspy, didn¡¯t I just have a drink not too long ago? How long was I out for? Concern overriding my curiosity about my wounds, I attempted to stand, I needed to find Ben, the wound on his back couldn¡¯t have been that bad right?


    My muscles seemed tight and unaccustomed to movement. But I kept moving and pushed aside everything else, picking up the shell filled with mystery gems I went in search of my only companion. It didn¡¯t take long; I¡¯m surprised I didn¡¯t hear him before, even if he was attempting to be sneaky. As I walked down the slightly curving tunnel I found that little jerk munching on what appeared to be the creepy croc head that bit me.


    Honestly, even though I¡¯m hungrier than I¡¯ve ever been, I don¡¯t think I could bring myself to eat that thing. Even though the meat was mostly gone its eyes were still wide open and glaring at me. It was enough to bring shivers down my spine. Also, what the hell were those things! In the heat of the moment I forgot my shock and just tried to escape. But these things weren¡¯t natural, was I in some kind of subterranean lizard-man city? What kind of bad TV show was this!


    Once again, more question, no answers. If I am ever to make any sense out of all this, then I need to get the hell out of here¡­ Ben is looking at me with his ears down and tail completely still. ¡°Yeah, yeah, go ahead, you helped me back there anyway.¡± He began to wag his tail happily at that and continues to eat. I don¡¯t know how he can do it; his stomach is stronger than mine. Ben¡¯s wound doesn¡¯t seem to be that bad, the blood has clotted and it doesn¡¯t seem that deep. Should have named him Lucky.


    Sitting down next to him, I tried to piece together the days events, if it was even day that is. Unfortunately, I had no plausible reason for my wounds to be healed so suddenly. Also, though the memory was vague, I could still remember the dream I had, was that somehow linked to my healed wounds? No way to tell for sure.


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    I¡¯d be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t tempted to go back and take a look at that cavern again. I remember that weird blue light that burst forth when I was getting a terrible shoulder massage from headless over here. It seemed oddly familiar, but I couldn¡¯t put my finger on it. ¡°Haaah¡± I sigh in exasperation, I¡¯m sure it will come to me eventually. Hopefully everything will become clear once I get out of here.


    We spent a few moments in silence, with the only sound coming from ben and his new bone. The fact that those croc faces didn¡¯t come in search for us already probably meant that they were just territorial, or maybe scared shitless. Hell, I¡¯m scared of what happened back there too and it saved my life! After a while I decided it¡¯s about time we get moving. Ben follows close behind, carrying the skull like a souvenir.


    After a few hours of walking, choosing new tunnels and walking some more, I noticed there was moss growing along the walls. Promising? I¡¯m not too sure, but I think I heard something about moss and directions once upon a time. As we kept following the moss I started to hear something strange, like a scratching sound. As we moved forward the sound became louder and louder, until it resembled the crisp banging of something solid on something equally solid and metallic. Then came the grunting noises with it.


    I started running, careful not to trip, but that sound was very human, and I couldn¡¯t help feeling hope. Ben dropped the croc face and ran next to me, he could have easily overtaken me, but I think this whole experience has taught him a pack mentality. I stopped at a fork in the path; I tried to listen to the distant sounds.


    They were now obviously human, I couldn¡¯t make out what they were doing, building something? Perhaps this was some sort of mine? I could only distinguish one voice, a man; he was grunting and yelling something I couldn¡¯t understand, a different language maybe? It didn¡¯t sound like a language I was familiar with, but if they were human, then at the very least they could help me get out of this place.


    Left, that was where the sounds seemed to be coming from. I made haste, not wanting to be in this place any longer than absolutely necessary. Though I suppose I should have been watching where I was stepping because I suddenly fell¡­ through the ground. I tried to grab the edge, like they do in those action movies¡­ harder than it looks, I ended up whacking my head off the lip of the hole and falling without any sense left in my noggin.


    I hit the ground hard on my side, why was this all so painful? Oh ye gods, what have I done to deserve such harsh treatment! My head hurt like that night after my nineteenth birthday and I looked around in a daze. I seem to have a mild concussion, oh happy day! Oh, and by the way, Ben is looking down the hole at his fool of a master with a forlorn expression.


    All bad jokes aside though¡­


    My vision finally comes back into focus, only to find a very sharp piece of steel pointed directly at my neck. Where¡¯s the LARP? The man in front of me is wearing what looks like leather armor with dark green clothes underneath. He doesn¡¯t look very friendly, well actually he looks about as surprised as I am. But I can tell he¡¯s not amused. I wouldn¡¯t be either had someone started a cave in right above me.


    ¡°Mor jur¡¯vat?¡± the man, he seemed to be in his late middle ages, asked me in a language I couldn¡¯t begin to understand. His dark black hair with streaks of white along the sides of his head, and dark somewhat bushy eyebrows added to his scarred face and intense eyes to put the fear of god in me.


    I simply raised my hands and tried to look as non-aggressive as possible and said¡­ ¡°I come in peace?¡± with an innocent smile, though I knew my words didn¡¯t reach him.


    my luck really sucks.


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    Fiction Page</a>

 CH:4 - The Green Warden

    ={====> Vorn Harzan <====}=


    Even though it was dark, I easily made my way through the decaying woods. This entire area was befouled by high negative magical essence, so much so that the animals would twist and mutate into monstrosities. I have little difficulty here though; I am well practiced in concealing my presence, even from such vile beasts.


    Magic is seen as a gift in the eyes of many, but as with any great power, there are consequences to having such convenience. Magical power is usually referred to as Essence, there is negative and positive Essence, and both sides are needed for balance and harmony. But when one side becomes more dominant, like in this wood, bad things can happen.


    A smell like rotting damp wood surrounds me, and I can clearly hear the howling of something that sounds like a wolf, though I sincerely doubt it is one. Those who have trained their bodies to use magic can survive here without becoming¡­ changed, but anyone else would go insane, that is if they live long enough. The condensed negative essence here has warped this place into something truly vile.


    Animals and beasts aren¡¯t the only thing one should be wary of here. Just one sting from some of the insects here might put someone down for days, paralyzed and helpless. Thankfully my objective does not lie in this putrid wood, but beyond it.  As I think this I break from the tree line and spot the caverns entrance just on the other side of a clearing.


    Someone else might have searched for days, but I know these lands well. All Green Wardens are duty bound to scout these tainted places, for fear of what might come out of them should we leave it be. I have not been an active Green Warden for a little over four years now, but I am not yet old enough to forget the fifty some odd years of duty that forged me into the man I am today.


    I do not simply approach the cave entrance; doing so would be foolish¡­ simply leaving the forest does not make it safe. These are tainted lands, where anything is possible, and that same anything usually gets the careless man killed. I hide behind a large boulder close to a half dead tree. I watch carefully, ensuring that there is nothing waiting in ambush in the clearing next to the cliff face¡­ nothing, at least nothing I can see.


    Quickly, I move to the caves only entrance, making sure to stay as low as I can. It had already been a day and half a night since Dola had foolishly come here seeking special ores. Dwellvar, I¡¯ll never understand their almost religious fascination of rocks and metals. As I gaze into the deep, dark abyss, my worry for her only deepens.


    Her father Craigor is a very dear friend of mine, and Dola had become something like a niece to me¡­ I would die before I let something bad happen to her. My resolve firm, I started my descent into the depths of Hrengir¡¯s Grotto.


    Not ten feet into the cave and already I was in deep darkness. I put my ring to my mouth and say a small incantation. The yellow gem in the ring begins to glow brightly, like a blade cutting through the dark. Using this ring outside would be like telling every terrible beast within a mile that dinner was ready, but here, it was a necessity.


    After walking for some time, I still could not find any tracks or signs that she had been here. That doesn¡¯t mean she isn¡¯t hear, but either she became an expert of covering her tracks, or something has been erasing them. The density of negative magic is much weaker down here. Creatures coming down here to escape the wilds would not be strange in the slightest.


    I can clearly see that the ground has been swept by something, but there are a variety of things that would make such a trail. I was starting to feel anxious, it had been far too long without encountering something, and this unnatural silence was irritating. As if sensing my thoughts, the ground behind me suddenly erupted and an arm shot out to grab my leg.


    A Fosoul. The remains of a once living body that died then fossilized over many years by absorbing the negative energy from the earth, turning its bones to stone and gifting it with new life. Though whatever remained of the person it used to be had long since departed.


    The monster would find that I am no easy prey though. As it reached for my leg I unsheathed one of my two swords and gave it a good whack. This blades particular enchantment made it nearly indestructible, and the fine edge, though not entirely effective, made one of the rock hard bones break. Giving me time to distance myself.


    It began pulling itself from the earth¡­ stone was its own element, and it easily emerged from the ground. At a glance it would seem like a humanoid skeleton, but upon closer scrutiny I could see that the ¡®bones¡¯ were pure stone, and had slight spikes here and there like tiny stalagmites. The ribcage was fused and looked like plate armour. This was not going to be easy.


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    The abomination attacked, its eyes glowing with a cold white light. Using its unnatural speed it quickly closed the distance between us, but I was ready. As it was about to punch forward I knew I couldn¡¯t dodge in these tight quarters, so I did the next best thing. I went forward, ducking under the punch and rolling, I used my momentum to stab at the things core.


    All undead had a weak point, the place where magic was saturated the most, directly where the heart once was, or the head¡­ I went for the heart. My blade could not pierce the fused rib cage, but it could go under it. I was aiming for the condensed magic stone that helped to animate it. These stones were generally very fragile, and could be broken with enough force.


    I heard a cracking noise and I knew I hit home, but I had not broken it yet. This put me in a very bad position, considering I was directly under a now very angry undead monster. The Fosoul reached down and grabbed my dark green cloak, tossing me into the nearest wall. I hit it rather hard, but I was up in seconds, just in time to see the charging Fosoul about to show me just how angry it was.


    Readying myself I began to think of my counter move when suddenly there was a loud noise. The earth above our heads was cracking and falling, thankfully I had the reflexes and time to jump away from the falling debris. The Fosoul was not so lucky however. The stones hit its skull with enough force to crack it open, revealing the second crystal that controlled its body. It only took another well-placed falling rock to finish it off and the rest to bury it.


    ¡°Cough, Cough!¡± I¡¯m getting too old for this, seventy eight years old, even with some Alvana blood running through my veins, was long enough for a man to be fighting. As the dust cleared I slowly rose to my feet, but what I saw froze me solid. Lying on top of the pile of debris was a young human man with more dirt on him than skin; he seemed well built, not bulging muscle but well toned and trained¡­ perhaps a warrior?


    The young man is obviously injured, since his eyes seem to be unfocused and blood is running freely down the right side of his head. The odd thing is that he doesn¡¯t seem to be armed, and he certainly didn¡¯t appear to be a Spell Weaver or Mage. By the void, how did he manage to survive down here!?


    Upon closer inspection I see that his clothes are a mess, ripped and torn in many places. Under his torn shirt, for a fleeting moment I could have sworn I saw what looked like battle scars. I focused my eyes into the magi spectrum; gradually I could see the many shades of magic all around us; a simple skill that any trained novice in magic could use.


    How strange¡­ the magical essence around the young man¡­ was like nothing I had ever seen before. Every person, nay¡­ every living thing on Ghalonos gave off an aura, this aura would be like a beacon, showing their aptitudes for magic and their magical capacities. A mage would be like a small sun, whereas one untalented would simply give off a faint light.


    Yet he gave off nothing, in fact¡­ if I concentrate; it almost looks like he is¡­ absorbing the Essence around him. What is this man¡­? I see a violet glow in the corner of my eye that distracts me from my thoughts. Those are¡­ how did he find such rare magic stones?


    Remembering my purpose here¡­ a young Dwellvari girl with a passion for such stones, my blood runs cold¡­ could he have¡­ barely concealing my suspicion I move in front of the fazed young man. His eyes seem to focus on me for the first time; did he just realize I was here? I suspected as much but it seems his fall was not planned.


    I notice a small black canine head poking its head in the hole, I keep it in my peripheral vision¡­ a dog, and it doesn¡¯t seem threatening. I raise my sword to the strange mans throat and say with a tone that shows I am in no mood for games. ¡°Who are you?¡± the man makes a pitiful smile and raises his hands, showing no ill intent, he says something I cannot understand in a strange language.


    What does ¡®I cum ein pees¡¯ mean? This was going to be a headache¡­


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    I was going to do two perspectives this chapter, but it was taking longer than expected, so I opted to post the first perspective as chapter 4. Please let me know what you think.


    Fiction Page</a>

 CH:5 - Revelations and Questions

    ={====>Blake Lambet<====}=


    Finally, I found another person, I was starting to think I would die in this cave¡­ or at least that¡¯s what I would be thinking if I weren¡¯t tied up! And lets not forget that this weirdo doesn¡¯t even speak English! After we unexpectedly fell on top of the guy, well he wasn¡¯t happy¡­ can¡¯t say I blame him really, although I don¡¯t think it was necessary to threaten me with his pointy sword. Ah well, I need help if I¡¯m to get out of here, so I¡¯ll just play along for now.


    Ben is currently staked to the wall, the guy pulled rope and a metal stake out of nowhere¡­ well it was under his cloak¡­ Who carries rope around with them in this day and age? What a creeper¡­ anyway, we are both in a bit of a bind, pun intended. The man seems to be interested in those glowing crystals, he¡¯s looking through them, but I think he¡¯s searching for something specific, since he seems to only be faintly interested in them. I wonder what he could be looking for that is more interesting than freaky glowing crystals? Hmmm.


    The man looks at me with interest clearly in his eyes; I can almost hear the many questions he must want to ask me... This language barrier thing is a major annoyance. There are a variety of questions I want to ask him too, ever since I woke up there have been things happening that I just can¡¯t possibly understand, I think this crazy old guy might have some answers I need. Like what is this place¡­ at first I kept telling myself that this was some kind of underground tunnel system, but the things I¡¯ve seen¡­


    He bends down and takes one of the smaller violet shards, it glows weakly even in the light produced from his weird ring. He didn¡¯t say anything after our¡­ introduction¡­ I guess he understood that it was useless and simply gestured and grunted for me to do things. He sits down in a cross-legged position and starts muttering in the strange language. Oh! The shard is glowing slightly brighter; does he know how it works?


    After some time he places the shard to his forehead and the thing slowly goes from a light violet, to a deep purple. It must have taken about ten minutes before he stopped and looked at me curiously. The man was obviously older than he looked; I¡¯ve been around the elderly enough to know that ¡®get off my lawn¡¯ kind of grumpy personality when I see it. Somehow though, he seems tired, or maybe worried?


    He gets up and comes over to me, a look of apology on his haggard face. ¡°Ais novar larcenda, beolur¡¯gaz.¡± He says in a voice that scares me, not because he¡¯s angry¡­ but because he¡¯s apologetic, almost sympathetic. He raises his hand and places the shard on my forehead¡­ I flinch a bit, not knowing what he is about to do. Then the pain came, it was so sudden and unbearable that I didn¡¯t scream at first, just spasmed violently. Of course I began screaming shortly after, but I was in too much pain to notice.


    It was a nightmare, my head seemed to fill with light and pain, pictures and words I couldn¡¯t understand were swirling around in my head. I honestly thought I was going to die, it was like lightning was repeatedly striking my brain and I began bleeding from my ears and nose¡­ I don¡¯t know when I started crying. The words that were assaulting me went by so fast; it was like a banshee screeching in my brain¡­ And then it was over. As quickly as the pain started it stopped, and I fell over and feinted.


    I was back in that dark place¡­ the only light coming from the light blue flames that made up my body. Something was different though¡­ I couldn¡¯t put my finger on it. I felt stronger, more alive¡­ maybe I was dead and this was where souls went when they passed on? It was peaceful¡­ that¡¯s it¡­ before I was in pain, this time I wasn¡¯t, that must be the difference. I look at my hands and admire the beauty of the wavering blue fire; it was calming, yet exhilarating to watch. Focusing of the flames and only the flames¡­ I don''t know how long I was mesmerized by it, but eventually my vision began to blur, then brighten.


    I opened my eyes slowly, testing my body to see if there was any pain, there was a faint throbbing in my head. And I think I might have hit my arm off something while I had my pain-induced seizure. But other than a few bruises I was fine, I sat up slowly, the man was eating what looked like bread. My head was swimming, and I had to steady myself else I¡¯d surely fall back down. ¡°Aah, what the hell did you do to me?¡±


    The man looked at me with that same expression, apologetic yet stern, and said, ¡°I apologize, but it was the fastest way for you to understand me. Though I admit it could have caused rather serious injury had I not been careful, does everything seem to be in working order?¡± I was about to respond but then I stopped cold¡­ wait a second¡­ what? He wasn¡¯t speaking English¡­ but I understood him perfectly¡­ on top of that, I even spoke to him in a different language, I didn¡¯t notice until just now! What the hell! When did I become bilingual!


    My face went pale and my mouth was agape, I was at a loss for words¡­ even though I knew a few new ones. Sensing my obvious confusion the man simply smiled slightly, though it didn¡¯t reach his eyes, ¡°I don¡¯t blame you for being surprised, it¡¯s rare to find someone who can use that particular skill. And it was my first time doing it to be honest. ¡±A bit of pride reached the mans voice but I was still too bewildered to notice, ¡°w¡­ what was that? What did you do?¡± I ask again, this time more seriously.


    The man made a complicated expression as though thinking of a way to explain things. ¡°I used Illusion magic, with the help of one of those magic stones, to copy my understanding of my native language, and impart it unto you. The process was tiring, and would have been even more so had I not used a stone. It was also painful, as you no doubt already know. Forcing information into a persons mind can be¡­ difficult.¡± He took another bite of bread and tossed one to me, I was a bit too shocked to notice so it hit me in the face, breaking me out of my confused stupor. He then threw one to ben, who caught it in the air and gulped it down without chewing. beside him was the shard, no longer glowing.


    Deep down¡­ I knew something was wrong with this place¡­ the weird animals, that humanoid crocs¡­ but this, this was magic. I couldn¡¯t lie to myself anymore¡­ the truth was right in front of me, but I still didn¡¯t understand. There were a thousand questions I wanted to ask, but how do I ask them? The man seemed to have his own questions though, and asked first. ¡°Now then¡­ we can continue, I asked you before but you couldn¡¯t understand me. Who are you, and what are you doing in this place?¡±


    I wanted to know why I was here too, but I could at least tell him what I do know. I¡¯m far too confused to ask any questions right now, so I¡¯ll gather information from what he thinks of my story so far. I tell him about when I woke up in the dark cave with the crystal, and how Ben seemed to jump out of thin air, I now assume that was some sort of magic. How the crystal broke up into many pieces and my encounters with the natives. The man seemed to take it all rather well, his confused grouchy face had returned and when I mentioned the crocs his eyes darted to my shoulder where I had been bitten.


    ¡°This wound was sealed with unrefined magic,¡± he mumbled to himself, almost inaudible. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about magic, in fact I always thought it wasn¡¯t real.¡± I say flatly, which makes him raise an eyebrow questioningly, ¡°do you not use magic where you came from?¡± he asked with mild interest. ¡°No, there are those that say they can but¡­ wait... where I came from?¡± the man nodded as though he had found the answer some time ago. ¡°Yes, from your story, it would seem you came from another realm.¡±


    Another realm? Wait, wait, wait! Is he saying I¡¯m not in Kansas anymore!? Metaphorically speaking of course, I came from Canada¡­ ¡°What exactly do you mean by, from another realm?¡± I ask, panic obvious in my voice. The man simply nodded seriously and said ¡°yes, it is not uncommon, there are Realms that are rather close to this one, and visitors come from time to time. Though from what you have told me, your case is a bit odd.¡± A bit of sympathy crossed his old face.


    ¡°What do you mean by odd?¡± this whole conversation is odd! He starts to tell me about a place called the Nexus, that connects billions of Realms together, but normally one cannot travel to a Realm with very different laws from the one they are used to. Which is why I am odd, my world, a world without or with very little magic, should not be able to connect to this one. ¡°Or at least that is what I was taught, I am no expert on the matter though,¡± he finished.


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    ¡°Well can I go back?!¡± I didn¡¯t mean to sound rude but I¡¯m rather shocked and frustrated right now, I finally got some answers¡­ but they just led to more questions. He seemed to understand though, and thought about it for a while before nodding to himself slightly. ¡°I have business here, but once I am done, I can lead you to someone I know who might be of some assistance.¡± So that¡¯s it then¡­ no helping it? Well I guess it wouldn¡¯t be a problem he could fix for me, he seems strong, but not all-powerful.


    ¡°By the way, what should I call you?¡± he asked, I cant believe we¡¯ve been talking for this long and I forgot the first question he asked! ¡°My name is Blake, and the pooch is Benjie, he also responds to Ben though.¡± He nodded and replied, ¡°my name is Vorn Harzan, former First Warden of the eastern forests and trained at the citadel of Urune, granted you don¡¯t die down here, we should be traveling together for a while.¡± Cheery, this guy must be a blast at parties.


    <===}=={===>


    I agreed to go along with him, he untied me, saying he trusted me to a degree but if I turned on him he would kill me without a moment of hesitation. A scary thought but I have no reason to betray him¡­ he pulled a dagger out of his boot like some hardcore hunter and gave it to me. ¡°Stay close to me, and don¡¯t fight unless you have to¡­ there are worse things here than what you have seen so far.¡± Vorn stated firmly, flipping the dagger and presenting me the hilt. The dagger is like a small scimitar; it has a curved one-sided blade that is about a hand and a half long. The hilt has a small rounded guard and is made entirely out of wood. Kind of reminds me of a fillet knife.


    Vorn placed the magic stones in his pack, which was conveniently hidden under is cloak. The magic stones, as he named then, were extremely rare and might hold answers for the person Vorn spoke of. He then went to work on the shell, reducing the bottom half until it was easy to hold like a shield. ¡°Here, use what we have, this will give you some added protection. Grungri shells are known for their durability.¡± He said handing me the shell, so that¡¯s what that thing was called huh? Well I won¡¯t argue with him, I have endured enough pain thus far and a makeshift shield is better than no shield.


    It wasn¡¯t long before I realized just how lucky I was, this Vorn fellow seems to be an excellent tracker and fighter¡­ I¡¯m honestly safer with him leading the way than just aimlessly walking around. We were walking for quite some time, until we came upon a section of the tunnels that seemed different than the rest.


    I shivered involuntarily, it had been rather quiet before with no enemies in our path. Vorn seemed to grumble at this, saying something was amiss. But I was glad we didn¡¯t have any trouble. This place though¡­ the stone was dark, like obsidian, and our footsteps seemed to violate the unearthly quiet atmosphere. I noticed it was getting colder, just how far down have we gone? "Hey Vorn, are you sure you know where you''re going? this place doesn''t feel right." I know he is an expert, but this place gave me goosebumps. "Yes, I found a marking on the wall back there, it was obviously Dola," I nod though I wonder what kind of crazy would come down here, even for riches.


    It wasn¡¯t long until we came upon an opening in the tunnel¡­ and what I saw¡­ was beyond my comprehension. A great, dark cavern expanded below us, stalagmites and stalactites adorned the ceiling and ground¡­ there was a large stream that seemed to go on forever below us, it glowed with a soft light. Ben licked his mouth, wanting a good drink surely.  ¡°Glairai Shrooms, they¡¯re spores glow in the dark, the current must have picked them up from deeper in.¡± I nod, not understanding what he¡¯s talking about but it sounds awesome.


    Vorn nudges me with his elbow ¡°quit gawking, this place may seem wonderful, but it¡¯s The Deep, the underworld, where monsters reign supreme.¡± The Deep was the name for the deepest parts of the world, where thousands of tunnels and cavers connected together to form a whole new world beneath the surface. Luckily this was not where we were headed, but the side passage next to it leading deeper into the cave system I now knew was called Hrengir¡¯s Grotto.


    As we kept moving down this swerving tunnel we began to see odd drawings on the walls. Vorn said they were ancient drawings from the old races that once lived down here. They were rather intricate, some depicting ferocious monsters and others wove complicated patterns, when I asked what they meant he simply said they were directions... and warnings. after a few eerily quiet moments passed Vorn seemed rather upset, ¡°I don¡¯t understand! There should be far more opposition than what we have faced, where are all the-¡° Vorn stopped and went silent¡­ he motioned for me to do the same, he seemed to be listening, so I did too.


    It wasn¡¯t long before I heard a ticking sound, it was familiar, and kind of like the sound I heard before I fell on top of Vorn. There was also a feint humming sound, like singing. Vorn smiled and picked up his pace, feeling the walls and using his skills to find the source of the sound. We passed a few corpses while we made our way, Vorn warned me that they might not all be dead, so we were careful, and he gave them a good stab as he passed, he was way too in to it, weird old guy.


    After about an hour we finally arrived to what looked like a graveyard, well under it actually since we technically are underground¡­ there were skeletons and small monsters all around, and at the center a small shady figure swinging a pickaxe, like the bodies didn¡¯t exist. Ben went off smelling everything in the room; I think peeing on corpses is a form of desecration isn¡¯t it? You ignorant pup!


    Vorn had of course told me about the Dwellvar girl he was here to find, apparently she had been missing for several weeks and her father was starting to worry. From his description I figured they were like Dwarves from fantasy, they were even stereotypically called Dwarves, though they didn¡¯t seem to be offended by the name. I figured they would be rough, stout, hairy and stubborn¡­ from what I know of fantasy Dwarves even the women have beards. As I approached closer I found that I was wrong.


    The woman, for she was indeed a woman¡­ with a full bust and well pronounced curves that were hard to hide even under her thick clothing, was rather beautiful. Excluding the dirt and grime all over her she had a fair face and a strong yet feminine build. She looked like any other woman would I guess, except she only was around three and a half feet tall. She seemed to dig away without a care in the world, of course she had noticed us, but wanted to get the rare metal she was working on before confronting us.


    ¡°Your father is rather worried Dola¡­ I was too, I do hope it was worth the risk of giving us old men heart attacks.¡± Said Vorn a warm smile on his face, I guess he really was worried about her, he was like ice before, but after seeing her he warmed right up. And wait a freaking second! What¡¯s with all the corpses? We didn¡¯t see a single enemy for hours, did she clean house? Why was he so worried about someone who can do something like this!?


    Dola finally gathered the ore she was trying to get and turned with a smile directed toward Vorn on her face. ¡°Uncle Vorn! Why¡¯re ye here? Has it bin a week already?¡± she asked innocently to which Vorn grunted un-amused ¡°Silly girl, you¡¯ve been gone for three whole weeks! Almost worried your father to death!¡± she pouted slightly and mumbled, ¡°I didn¡¯t think it¡¯d bin that long¡± just loud enough for us to hear her. She was rather cute, if you got past the dirt of course; I wasn¡¯t too different right now though so I couldn¡¯t judge.


    ¡°What happened here? Why are all these corpses gathered around you?¡± Vorn asked, though he didn¡¯t seem to ask the question going through my mind, ¡®how did you kill all these monsters!¡¯ but I let it pass, this was their reunion. ¡°Oh these?¡± she pointed with her pick at one of the piles of bones that littered the floor Ben poked his head up from behind it. ¡°I suppose I should show ye, there seems t¡¯be trouble brewin down¡¯ere.¡± Vorn made a complicated face and asked, ¡°what sort of trouble?¡± Dola gave a mischievous smile and replied, ¡°Why the Undead sort o¡¯course!¡±


    <===}=={===>


    Fiction Page</a>

 CH:6 - Undead Should Stay Dead!

    So I have come to the conclusion that I might have been better off wandering aimlessly trying to find the exit. The look in Vorn¡¯s eyes is kind of scaring me, and the Dwarf girl¡­ well I¡¯m almost certain she¡¯s insane. She went on to explain herself, most of the terms I didn¡¯t really understand but I understood enough to know we were all in a lot of danger.


    Basically, she came here in search of rare minerals and magic stones, apparently the Dwellvari mines were not producing ores like they used to, and she figured it would be a good idea to find richer deposits elsewhere. Of course, being the crazy mining enthusiast that she is, she completely neglected to tell her father she was leaving, and only packed the essentials.


    After a few days travel and inspecting the ores above ground, she decided to check out the caves close by. ¡°An¡¯ as ye can see, I¡¯ve found th¡¯ best spot there is!¡± she says with a proud grin, ¡°jus¡¯ turn off tha¡¯ blasted light and ye¡¯ll see.¡± Intrigued, Vorn lets the light from his ring go out, but we aren¡¯t assaulted by darkness.


    Multicoloured veins lined the walls like an intricate spider web, softly glowing and illuminating the room, though I have to admit, it would be a lot more impressive if the corpses weren¡¯t here, they kind of ruin the mood. ¡°Magic stones? I¡¯ve never seen such large quantities of it before¡­¡± says Vorn in an awed tone. Magic stones are apparently very rare, even basic ones are difficult to find. They are the product of condensed positive essence; it normally takes centuries to form.


    Vorn told me there are a variety of colours associated with magic stones; each colour represents its magic capacity. From weakest to strongest they are white, yellow, green, blue, red and violet, which would explain why Vorn was so interested in the violet shards. As interesting as all that might be though, I¡¯m more interested in something else right now, and she seems to have forgotten the first question ¡°so where did these corpses come from, and how did you manage to kill all of them¡­?¡±


    Dola looks at me, for what seems like a painfully long time, she was so absorbed in her reunion with Vorn that she seemed to forget about me completely. ¡°An¡¯ who is this man ye brought with ye? Gettin too old te travel by yerself now Uncle?¡± Vorn just scowled a bit and made a sound as if clearing his throat.


    ¡°This young man is named Blake, apparently he comes from another Realm, and I¡¯ll have you know that I am quite capable, even in my advanced years¡­¡± Vorn was going to continue but was cut off. ¡°Another Realm!?¡± she ran up to me and looked me over like she was inspecting newly discovered ore. ¡°Do ye have strange metals where ye came from?¡± a little uncomfortable, I simply shrug; I wasn¡¯t very into rocks unfortunately.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you would consider strange, but could we get back to my previous question?¡± I say a bit flatly, she eyes me with the look of a predator seeing fresh meat¡­ or maybe a prospector who just found the mother load¡­ this one seems to distract quite easily, I sigh inwardly. ¡°Hmm, bout the corpses here?¡± I nod slightly; I really want to know what¡¯s going on here.


    She thought for a moment and then went on to tell us about how she found this place, the whole upper caves were more or less without monsters so she decided to go deeper after finding little of use and weak resistance. Dwellvar can see in the dark rather well, half their lives are lived underground after all. So she quickly spotted this place, she wanted to know just how far the veins stretched, and so explored even deeper.


    It wasn¡¯t long before she came upon them, a large horde of undead, at least twenty in all. Using her enchanted pickaxe she made short work of them, they were led by a Dark Acolyte, otherwise known as a Necromancer. After looting what was valuable, she was surprised to find another group come storming in through a passageway, she figured they were with this group¡­ so she killed them as well.


    Her pickaxe is apparently her pride and joy, both a weapon and a tool forged by her father, the master blacksmith Craigor Ironhide. It never dulls, and cuts through stone like butter¡­ so you can imagine what it can do to flash and bone. I cringe slightly.


    The odd thing was the other Necromancer in the second group¡­ their kind often work alone, since they can simply raise allies if they need them. Curiosity peeked she traveled down the passage they came from, and eventually found what looked like an army of undead, led by Acolytes and a few Daemons.  ¡°WHAT!?¡± I jumped at the unexpected reaction, I was surprised, and I would be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t afraid. But Vorn looked furious, and extremely worried.


    ¡°Dola, why did you not return ¡®immediately¡¯ with this information!?¡± Vorn said, a bit of annoyance creeping into his tone. Dola simply shrugged it off and stated that she wanted to observe the situation more; also she needed more samples anyway so she decided to take it slow. Well thats what she said, but I got the feeling she just didn''t want to leave the ores alone. How serious can you be about your work? theres a damn undead army for crying out loud!


    ¡°If it is as you say child, then we are all in danger, not just us, but all of Ghalanos may need to be warned.¡± Vorn was rather serious now, the joyful reunion washed away by an unknown danger. ¡°I need to see this ¡®army¡¯ for myself, where did you say they were?¡± Vorn was dead set on this; there was no turning back until he was fully aware of the danger.


    Hmm, so lets clarify, I¡¯m stuck in another dimension, in a dark dank cave, with a crazy Dwarf girl, a grumpy old man, an army of undead and my dog is sniffing something I really didn¡¯t want to look at¡­ I think I¡¯m screwed. Dola led us to a shaft that was more or less a hole. Vorn used his rope, the same rope he had tied me up with, and tied an iron hook to it.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll go first, I¡¯ll flick the rope three times if its clear¡± Vorn takes hold of the rope and slowly makes his way down. Dola was looking at me like before, a playful smile on her lips. ¡°Ye goin too right?¡± I look at her, confused, ¡°wouldn¡¯t I just get in the way? All I have is a dagger and a weird shell, I¡¯m no trained warrior.¡± She giggles at my response, making me feel a bit embarrassed.


    ¡°Ye wont be fighten ye silly man, Uncle Vorn may be a bit crazy, but he aint mad¡­ te be honest, yer safer down there, never know wha¡¯ might come get¡¯cha up here.¡± A valid point I suppose, the rope flicks three times and Dola gets ready to go down. ¡°Jus¡¯ be sure ye don¡¯ regret it if ye stay up here like a cowardly mouse.¡± Saying this she descends down into the dark shaft.


    Coward huh? I¡¯ve never really thought of myself as a coward, even when I ran from the Crocs, I was just trying to survive, and I was too confused at the time to fight them all off. Now that I think about it, I haven¡¯t really been all that afraid lately, which is odd considering my current dilemma, Perhaps I¡¯m just numb to it all now.


    I¡¯ve feared for my life sure, but I still fought for my life when I needed to, even Ben has proven he can survive in this new world. ¡°Ben!¡± the Labradors head pokes up from a curious looking bone¡­ ¡°Come!¡± Ben leaves his bone and comes to sit in front of me. ¡°Sit, and stay here, I¡¯ll be back, be good¡­¡± Ben sits and tilts his head slightly, well he was always good with that command, I¡¯m sure if there¡¯s danger he will escape though.


    The rope flicks three times again, signaling its clear¡­ well, its all or nothing, if I¡¯m going to be stuck here, I might as well learn as much as I can about this new world. Grabbing hold of the rope I made my descent¡­ hoping for the best.


    I¡¯d be lying if I said it was easy, I¡¯ve never climbed down a tunnel shaft with nothing but rope to keep me from falling. Once I finally touched the bottom I found Vorn and Dola waiting patiently there for me, Dola had an approving grin, and Vorn wasn¡¯t smiling, though I thought I sensed approval from him all the same. He told us to keep low¡­ well told me, Dola was already low¡­ and we made our way through the dimly lit magic stone passages.


    It wasn¡¯t long, though it felt like forever to me, before we reached our destination. I have to admit, moving corpses are terrifying¡­ we stood on a rocky ridge overlooking a large cavern, not as large as The Deep, but large enough for the several thousand undead soldiers who stood in perfect lines, all facing what looked like a ruin of some sort.


    There were plenty of subterranean ruins down here apparently, old Dwellvari mines or cities, or crypts made for the kings of old. There were even places where older extinct races once lived, these would often be referred to as Catacombs or Dungeons. Adventurers would often find these hidden places and either die or become filthy rich.


    Looking at the assortment of undead under us, I noticed a few individuals that stood out, black robed men who carried large tribal decorated staffs, and what looked like full-fledged monsters as well. Horns, ferocious bear like faces and bulging muscle that could not be hidden by their rough black iron armour. The monsters were covered in fiery hair¡­ no literally, they were on fire¡­ these must be the Daemons they mentioned, just what the hell is wrong with this world!?


    The ruins looked like a half destroyed mausoleum, great pillars that once stood tall and strong now littered the ground in debris. A few torches were lit here and there but the main source of light was the glowing fungi and the magic stone deposits. It was enough to see their overwhelming numbers. And that was enough to put a shiver down my spine.


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    ¡°There must be just under two thousand down there,¡± whispered Vorn, his face seemed to age drastically. Dola simply nodded and added, ¡°they have a good number o¡¯ Acolytes as well, and they¡¯re led by a Sorrowen.¡± Vorn almost yelled out something after hearing that, his eyes now filled with desperation, and purpose, ¡°why did you not tell me this before?¡± he hissed under his breath, he was paling even more by the second.


    ¡°I was gunna¡­ must o¡¯ slipped me mind.¡± Dola said innocently, this woman really doesn¡¯t understand the importance of details it would seem. Though I admit I don¡¯t know what a Sorrowen is. Vorn seems genuinely frightened now, and so now I am too. ¡°We¡¯re leaving, I¡¯ve seen quite enough, we must warn the surrounding settlements and Zorundug¡­¡± said Vorn, his steely expression returning, but his skin still seemed pale.


    Zorundug? I make a mental note to ask about it later¡­ this seems rather serious, I¡¯m starting to envy Benjie right now, screw courage, I want to live! I take one last look at the army below, thousands of glowing eyes, the only sound heard is the scratching of bones and armour, the dim moans of the damned and the growls of Daemons¡­ what the hell have I gotten myself into.


    We steadily make our way back, making sure to stick to the wall, and stay low. Vorn is mumbling something under his breath, and Dola is leading, her eyes see better down here. I too am keeping my eyes and ears peeled, I just saw death, and I didn¡¯t like what it looked like. There¡¯s a fork up ahead, just one left turn and we are home free.


    We are about to round the corner when I suddenly hear a horn, a screeching sound that should never come from any instrument. A patrol, I wonder if they put it in place after the recent ¡®disappearances¡¯ our lady Dwarf here was party to. Yells and orders were bellowed in a language that kind of sounded more like coughing to me. Vorn pushed me down, just as a rusty black arrow passed by where my head used to be. Nearly shit myself.


    No time for that though, Dola began yelling at me, telling me to run, she led the charge with Vorn close behind. That old man was something else, deflecting arrows like they weren¡¯t even the slightest hindrance to his charge. The undead were many and they cut us off before we could pass.


    Once Dola hit the line of undead, it was like toppling pins at the bowling alley. Using her trusty pick, she tore two shambling skeletal warriors to pieces. It didn¡¯t end there though, the undead were wounded and crippled but not ¡®dead¡¯ yet. Vorn closed up behind her, finishing them off, all the while protecting me, I have to be honest, I feel like the third wheel here.


    One of the bastards grabbed my leg, not quite dead yet¡­ is dead even a word I should use for these guys? Anyway, I bash its skull in with my shield, the small hard spikes turning the things skull to powder and forcing it to let go. Inside I see a small white gem, more magic stone huh? Well I know what animates them now I suppose.


    Not wanting to waste energy I simply use my now free foot to curb stomp the thing and move forward. I look up to see only about four undead left out of the initial twenty, so that¡¯s how she killed them. She is swinging that pick so violently that its working more like a bludgeon, the sweat from the effort has cleaned her face and a rosy cheeked tiny goddess has emerged. I¡¯m feeling a little emasculated¡­ and slightly aroused, momma I think I found the one. I jump back a step as a spear fly¡¯s past.


    The Black Apostle is chanting something in that weird language, Vorn is busy covering Dola¡¯s back, and Dola is¡­ well she don¡¯t need no man. I¡¯m also the only one who seems to have noticed. I have two options, yell to warn them, or throw the dagger to break the creepy guys concentration. Seeing as I don¡¯t have a lot of time to think, I choose option number two. I used to do this when I went to my cottage with my brothers¡­ my hit/miss ratio was not inspiring, but hey I have to get lucky once today.


    Throwing the dagger with measured strength, you can¡¯t just throw it with everything or you might stab yourself in the foot¡­ long story. The dagger flies like it has a purpose¡­ no really, It freaking straightened out and flew straight at the target¡­ what the fuck?! The point hit the man right in the chest, the last words of his chant gurgled out incoherently. What happens next though is not what I was expecting.


    Unfortunately for me, I didn¡¯t know that chants don¡¯t just ¡®end¡¯ all that accumulated energy has to go somewhere. A large blast of white and black energy explodes from the casters body, ripping him to shreds and throwing all of us to the ground. Thankfully the last skeleton hit the wall rather hard, and was finished off.


    We slowly get up, I¡¯m shaking from the blast, my ears are ringing, I fall once trying to get up, but Vorn comes over and forces me up, yelling something I can barely interpret, I¡¯m thinking its ¡®run you idiot!¡¯ something like that. I get going, but not before glancing down the way the enemies came, something very big is coming. Oh shit.


    Vorn grabs the dagger and chants something I can¡¯t hear. Moments later the whole area where he was standing is covered in a think smoke screen. He burst out of it and pushes me forward. I can hear again, there are loud roars and screaming men and women. We get into the chamber with the shaft and Dola goes first, this time we don¡¯t have the time to take it slowly though. Vorn goes right after her saying something about there might be danger up top as well. I just nod, too hyped on adrenalin to care.


    I grab the rope next and start to climb, as I get three quarters of the way into the shaft a huge hairy hang grabs my leg! It hurts like hell, but I keep a firm grip on the rope. Vorn looks down after hearing my scream of pain and tries to get back down to me. ¡°Dammit! Not when I¡¯m so damn close!¡± the Daemon comes almost completely into the shaft and I kick its face with my free leg, which just pissed him off.


    The Daemon retreats to recover from the headache I gave it, still holding firmly to my leg, it doesn¡¯t seem very smart, but damn it¡¯s stubborn. Vorn is almost on top of me, from the look in his eyes he is going to either cut its arm off or my leg. Damn, I can¡¯t let it end like this! ¡°Vorn the dagger!¡± without hesitation he hands me the dagger, he¡¯s literally right above me now, and the beast has recovered from my kick to the face. Before it can register what is happening I stab it in the eye, hot blood squirts out like I¡¯m crushing a grape, the blood burns my hand.


    Roaring in pain the thing wrenches its face out, pulling free of the dagger, its grip is even stronger now. Damn, damn, damn! Desperate and out of ideas, I try to kick my leg free. Then it happened, just like before, in my desperation, a light blue aura surrounded me, the Daemon screamed in pain as its hand and arm was burned, I could hear sizzling. It finally let go, and I wasted no time getting the hell out of there.


    The Daemon was beyond anger now; it¡¯s climbing up behind us, its fangs snarling and its single eye burning with hunger and rage. Shit, shit, shit! Moving as fast as we can, we finally reached the top, Dola and Vorn help me out of the hole, Ben is barking, as if we haven¡¯t had enough noise for one day.


    Dola readies her pick, and with a practiced swing she strikes down hard on the top entrance, then again, and again, I hear howls of rage from within, and I swear I saw a beady yellow eye shining briefly in the darkness before tons of rock came crashing down on it. The shaft was sealed, but we weren¡¯t out yet.


    ¡°ye¡¯re more of a man than I though¡¯ Outlander, tha¡¯ was some fine fightin ye did down there.¡± Said Dola with a wink; she seemed hardly exhausted, barely even breathing hard. Vorn was panting slightly and I was half dead with my knee on the ground, my leg hurt like a bitch. ¡°You weren¡¯t so bad yourself, considering you did most of the fighting¡± I respond with a tired smile. We seem to have a moment where each of us is sizing up the other again, new found respect there.


    ¡°Yes, I hate to interrupt your moment you two, but we must keep moving, they know these tunnels well, it wont take long for them to reach us here.¡± Vorn states in his customary grouchy voice, I can tell he¡¯s still extremely worried, just what is a Sorrowen anyway? Ben comes over and sniffs my leg, he licks it then looks up at me with worried eyes. I pat him on the head, both to cheer me up as well as him.


    ¡°Lets get out of this place then, I¡¯ve had enough of under ground.¡± When I say this Dola giggles a bit and says, ¡°well ye¡¯ll jus¡¯ love Zorandug then wont ye?¡± that¡¯s the second time I¡¯ve heard that name, I should ask about it while we escape this hell hole. For now though, I¡¯m just glad I¡¯m alive¡­ again.


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 CH:7 - Emergence

    Please rate and comment; I need feedback on this chapter, probably more than the others.  Thank you for your continued support.


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    We were running for some time, I have no sense of time in this place, but when we finally slowed down I was completely exhausted. Dola used her Dwellvari sense of direction to find the easiest way out, something about ¡°feelin th¡¯ stone.¡± Ben was the happiest I have ever seen him, he thought we were racing or something and constantly ran ahead of us, silly dog.


    Once we finally exited the dark obsidian tunnels and entered back into the brown and gray ones I was more accustomed to, I let myself relax a bit. I never thought I would be happy to see the old tunnels again, go figure. Dola and Vorn both looked like they wanted to keep going but knew I wasn''t used to all the exertion, so we stopped and rested for a while.


    Ben came over and lay next to me and I gently patted him while trying to recover my stamina. ¡°It will be some time before we reach any of the settlements, I just hope we get there in time,¡± Vorn said this with a concerned frown, he wasn¡¯t blaming me, at least I don¡¯t think so¡­ he was genuinely worried.


    ¡°Has nothing like this ever happened before?¡± I ask curiously, this wasn¡¯t something that would occur often I''m sure, but in a land where magic and monsters existed¡­ well anything was possible wasn¡¯t it? Vorn shook his head and was about to answer when Dola cut in, ¡°There¡®re many Cults an¡¯groups who worship or follow evil beings¡­ but they usually¡¯re seen workin¡¯ alone.¡± She went on to describe some of the wars that were fought against worshippers of evil, but it all sounded rather clich¨¦ to me, like they were tales spun by bards who didn¡¯t know all the details.


    One such event was known as the Rising of the Void Lord, where Hrathure, a lord of the Void tried to enter this realm through the aid of his followers. However, the Holy Paladin Order put a stop to it by burning their stronghold to the ground. It all seemed so heroic in it¡¯s telling, I almost forgot about our current situation¡­ almost. Speaking of fighting evil though, I remembered something I wanted to ask Vorn.


    ¡°When we were trying to escape, I threw this dagger and it seemed to know exactly where I wanted it to go¡­ is there something special about it?¡± I produced the dagger that I still held from before, and looked at it in curiosity. Vorn nodded, ¡°yes, it has an enchantment upon it that increases accuracy.¡± Vorn stated this matter as though it was obvious, but I was rather grateful that Vorn would let me use such a weapon. He barely knew me after all. I looked at Vorn¡¯s second sword; he never unsheathed it once in the last fight, I wonder why?


    Snapping out of my reverie I remembered one more thing I needed to ask, ¡°what is Zorandug?¡± I remember that they had mentioned it before, and was quite curious to know what it was like. Dola¡¯s face brightened and looked down the tunnel with a bit of nostalgia evident in her gaze. ¡°Tis me home, and th¡¯capital o¡¯ the Dwellvari people. Carved out halls tha¡¯ reach deep int¡¯ the mountains. A truly wonderful place it¡¯ is¡­¡± She said something about the founder, Zoran, digging out a great mine and eventually, over time, a great city was formed. All I got from it was that I was going to be underground again¡­ hurray.


    We ate some of Vorn¡¯s rations then started to move again, I was tired, when was the last time I slept? Time has no meaning here, just the constant dimly lit passageways and the rocky walls all around me. I wasn¡¯t claustrophobic before this ordeal but I sure as hell have developed a deep dislike for caves now. The air was earthy and stale and the only sounds heard were the soft echoes of our footsteps. Although Vorn had reactivated the light enchantment on his ring, the dark tunnels ahead seemed to just go on and on like a nightmare. No matter how much time you spend down here, it never gets any better.


    We ran into a few huge insects, they were docile mostly, so we ignored them, they were centipede like with hundreds of legs and big multifaceted eyes. Dola said that if you were in a pinch you could eat them without having to cook the meat; I couldn¡¯t suppress a shiver of disgust. Even Ben, the bottomless pit, shied away from the creatures, they must have not smelled right to him because he was giving them a rather disapproving look.


    We were relatively safe from being found by any undead who were searching for us; Dola had used her senses to find a passage that led directly to the surface. Vorn then used Illusion magic to hide the passage from any pursuers. I asked him how he used magic, and he told me it was a natural affinity he was born with. He could use other kinds of magic, but it would take a longer time to use effectively. When I asked how he knew what his affinity was, he simply said it was mandatory for Green Wardens to take the test¡­ he didn¡¯t really elaborate on the test, saying it was a secret known to those who took it.


    Magic would be a useful thing to learn in this world¡­ I could only hope, with my origins, that I could use it to some extent. We left the Insects behind and continued on our way, but Vorn raised his hand to signal a stop a short while later. We did so, I even held my breath, and strained my ears to listen¡­ nothing, was Vorn jumping at shadows now? Not that I would blame him. Vorn mumbled something about growing old but was cut off when the wall suddenly burst open and a large two-headed snake went for both Vorn and me! It would have had us to, if it hadn¡¯t been for Dola, who used her Pickaxe in a reflexive movement to peg the snake to the ground.


    The large six-meter long snake whipped around madly trying in vain to free itself from the Pick. In doing so it broke more of the tunnel and rubble fell from the ceiling, some rained down on me, hitting my shoulder and making me lose balance. I deflected most of it with my makeshift shield, but was still unable to block it all.


    Hissing violently the snake rounded on Dola who was keeping it in place... who had caused it pain. Vorn didn¡¯t need anymore warning, he unsheathed his blade and went for one of the heads whose attention was focused on Dola. Using his momentum he put his full body into a powerful swing that nearly decapitated one of the heads clean off the body. The snake had the element of surprise, but it misjudged its prey, one head now hanged lifeless and the other, now enraged, went in for a kill, with little regard for safety.


    It was about to bite down on Dola when a black form flew in and tackled the thing against the tunnel wall. Ben was promptly shaken off but he had gained enough time for Vorn to regain his stance and attack again, having overextended himself a bit on the last swing. Throughout this rather epic encounter I had been knocked down by the rocks and debris, I rose just in time to see Ben courageously attack the snake¡­ that¡¯s my boy. I rose to my feet and readied my dagger but the final blow had been struck, Vorn stood over the corpse of a twitching two-headed snake breathing heavily.


    ¡°Did ye have a nice rest Blake?¡± asked Dola with her characteristic grin, I grunted in answer, somehow I felt¡­ jealous, what¡¯s with that? Ben had a few scratches and bruises here and there but he was okay. He¡¯s been a great help throughout this whole ordeal; I don¡¯t think I could have survived without his help¡­ I¡¯ll need to reward him when we get out of here.


    Dusting himself off, Vorn approached us with a bit of relief on his face, ¡°that was close, but it means we¡¯re getting closer to the surface, we should reach it soon¡­¡± Vorn looked at the snake¡¯s corpse with a difficult expression, ¡°we don¡¯t have time to skin it and gather materials¡­ too bad, Oroborites are rare in these parts.¡± He said as he cleaned his sword on a piece of cloth and sheathed it. We left the body behind; other creatures would feast on it no doubt.


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    The rest of our journey to the surface was uneventful, the Oroborite was a feared predator, and so much of its territory was uninhabited. I was fully aware that had one of us run into that thing by ourselves, we would have surely had a run for our money. I would have died instantly most likely, the thought made me a bit more anxious to get out of here. Though from what Dola and Vorn had told me, the outside could be just as dangerous if not more so than here. I just wanted to be out in the open again, with fewer places for monstrous beasts to hide.


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    My wish was finally granted, I began to smell a difference in the air, a freshness that I had all but forgotten. To be honest it almost made me light headed, but I kept walking, my heart beating faster with every step in excitement. Ben was no different; he probably had smelled the outside before any of us. Once I was close enough to smell it too, he couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore and ran up ahead.


    Vorn shouted, saying it was dangerous to go ahead alone, but I knew there was no stopping him. It wasn¡¯t long until I saw light anyway, so we picked up our pace, I was finally going to be free of these damned caves and tunnels, finally going to see the sun. Feel the wind on my face and the warmth on my skin. As I emerged from my underground prison I was overwhelmed at first, the sky was overcast and the sun was close to setting, the surroundings were desolate and unforgiving¡­ wait. Ah come on!


    We seemed to be surrounded by a dark swampy forest, whatever wasn¡¯t wet was rocky and rough. Behind us, where we had just come from, were great mountains that seemed to go on forever, their snowcapped peeks hidden in the clouds. Ben was frolicking in some swampy water close to the trees, he seemed genuinely happy. Oh well, I had expected a wonderful sunny day and a beautiful forest surrounded by lush grassland¡­ serves me right for thinking this was some kind of fantasy novel.


    Despite the surroundings, I was truly happy¡­ I was free, finally out of the stale earth. I took a moment to just breathe in the air, it smelled wet and earthy, but not like when I was underground, there was life in it. Warmth I had been missing for god only knows how long, the scenery wasn¡¯t very lovable, but I couldn¡¯t deny the pure joy I felt. Vorn and Dola had been waiting patiently behind me, they seemed to be amused by my reaction.


    Vorn walked up next to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. With a wry smile he said in a calm and proud voice, ¡°It¡¯s a bit late Blake, but welcome to Ghalanos, if the current situation wasn¡¯t so dire, I would show you around personally, but we must get moving.¡± I nod, understanding completely, the feeling of urgency was still there in Vorn¡¯s tone. There was still great danger building up below our feet, and nobody but us knew about it.


    ={=====>The Sorrowen<=====}=


    She placed the sacrifice gently upon the altar, it was a mere animal, but it would serve as the blood that stained this glorious day. She slit the creature¡¯s throat, letting the blood pool under it, filling a steel basin at the altars base. ¡°Oh Unending One, hear my words, we have found the second fragment of the key, and thou shall be free again once more!¡± she spoke with a tone of love and reverence, her eyes bled tears of joy, feeling the consciousness of her unholy lord reaching out to her. The blood in the basin swirled and danced in reply¡­ soon¡­ soon you will be free to finish what you began my lord.


    The Sorrowen, for she was not some mere woman, rose to her feet and produced a gilded fragment of what looked like a diamond shaped object. The fragment was warm to the touch, and made her remember what if felt like to have a living body. Such memories were useless to her, she did not need them, her glorious undeath was a gift from her lord, and she was forever grateful.


    Her thoughts were disturbed by a commotion outside the tombs walls. She put away the fragment and made her way to the entrance of the tomb. Her steps made no sound, and though there was no wind her deep crimson dress wafted around her like it was alive, which in a way, it was. One of the Acolytes came running into the tomb with a frantic expression, what was this ones name? These pawns all looked the same, black robes and black leather masks that resembled a skull, skin scarred over and over with patterns of unholy sigils and runes. The man came to a halt when he saw her terrible beauty, unable to look her in the eyes, which had recently bled tears of blood from the ritual contact with her master.


    Her deathly pale, beautiful face was marred by an evil unseen, but nearly tangible¡­ an aura of malice and cruelty. ¡°Speak,¡± she commanded in a strong yet painfully melodious voice. The Acolyte nearly went for his ritual dagger to cut himself out of pure pleasure stopped and remembered the task at hand. ¡°Revered Sorrowen, I bring news that someone or some thing has breached our defenses and witnessed out glory.¡± The man spoke reverently, as though she were a prophet of his lord, for she was, among other things.


    So the insects above had seen the greatness of her lord¡¯s forces had they? ¡°And I assume you dealt with the intruders?¡± she said in a voice that promised pain otherwise. The Acolyte simply fell to his knees and begged for her forgiveness over and over again. ¡°They overwhelmed the patrols and escaped into the tunnels! We are currently loo-¡° that was all he could say before her hand grabbed his throat. His eyes, hidden by the hood, bulged in a mixture of fear and bliss, his skin turned gray and haggard like all the life was being drained from him until she let him go, his body turned to dust the moment he hit the ground.


    Feeling refreshed after her meal, she thought it didn¡¯t really matter¡­ she had found what she had come for; soon the entire world would know death and despair¡­ and She, Baeletra Sel Vikken, would stand by her lords side when the time came. Yes, let the insects scurry to defend themselves¡­ it was already far too late now.


    ={=====>Blake Lambet<=====}=


    Vorn was adamant about us not going through the forest; apparently there were worse things inside than anything I had seen thus far, so I didn¡¯t argue. It would be common to run into animals if we went around, but they were the least dangerous things around here¡­ something about a taint in the forest. Anyway, we began to move, getting as far away from the caves entrance as possible. Vorn told me it would be dangerous to camp too close to the forest at night, so we made some distance.


    Vorn went on to explain his plans, he would stay with us until we got out of the Untamed Lands, then he would separate from us to go warn the surrounding human settlements. The man Vorn had promised to take me to was located in Zorandug, so Dola would be able to lead me to him. He hated having to leave us but Zorandug would need to be warned and so would the Human lands.


    I was so focused on what Vorn was saying that I didn¡¯t notice we had climbed a rocky ridge that overlooked the surrounding lands until it was right in front of my face. The sun was starting to set, painting the sky a variety of colours from orange to deep red, the clouds had parted a bit and I could start to see stars in the darker parts of the sky. It was beautiful¡­ even the decaying swamp like forest beneath us, which sprawled along the mountainous ridgeline, was a wonder to behold. I was truly free, perhaps for the first time.


    I could hear the birds, whose calls I didn¡¯t recognize; starting to go silent, night was nearing¡­ my first real night in a different world. Dola nudged me with her elbow, a different, understanding smile on her lips, and a knowing light in her eyes. Dwellvar emerged from the earth when they were of age, much like I had, and seeing the sun and the stars for the first time was overwhelming for them. My experience was nothing like hers must have been, but it was similar, and she could relate.


    For the first time since I woke up in that circular cave with the glowing magic stone, I really felt alive. There was a world of possibilities to explore, and here I was¡­ taking the first steps. I couldn¡¯t help but feel excited; even if it turned out I couldn¡¯t return home¡­ I was alive.


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 CH:8 - World of Magic

    It was my first night under the starry sky of a world not my own, to be honest, if I hadn¡¯t yet come to terms with the fact that this was not my world, I would now. I always loved the nighttime sky back home, so full of lights and mystery. Even now that hasn¡¯t changed, if anything I¡¯m even more drawn to it. The reason? I was looking at sky I had never seen before, one drastically different from my home.


    No moon, and the stars seemed to shine brighter than the ones back home, in place of moonlight, there was a brilliant ring of god knows what encircling the world. The light from the ring shone a pale white light in contrast to the brilliant stars. Vorn told me the ring was used in navigation; it always went from east to west. This meant if you knew where star formations were you would rarely get lost.


    This place is so foreign to me, I feel¡­ out of place, yet drawn to its mysteries. Magic and monsters, strange human like races, the things of fantasy or myth coming to life before my very eyes. I would be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t confused, afraid and delighted all at once. Though I have to admit, ever since I woke up in that cave I¡¯ve felt¡­ disconnected? I don¡¯t know, but it feels like something is out of place.


    I pulled my eyes from the sky and refocused them on my surroundings; we had travelled quite some distance from the caves. In that time we had run into roving wolves and a few other wild animals.


    During each encounter I would wait and flank the enemies blind spot with my dagger. It¡¯s strange but whenever I¡¯m fighting I feel better, like something has snapped back into place, maybe its just adrenalin or something.


    Vorn is cooking the wolf meat right now over a small guarded fire, hidden behind a boulder. He was rather adamant about it not being seen. I could only agree with him, I knew next to nothing about the dangers of this world, but I did know a fire in the dark was more or less a beacon for trouble.


    We made camp up high on a ridge overlooking the swampy forest below; it¡¯s a rather safe path. Unfortunately Vorn said we¡¯d still have to descend and go through the forest to get out of here. From what Dola told me earlier, the forest was full of creatures that were extremely dangerous and hungry. I¡¯ll try to contain my excitement.


    Speaking of Dola, I can barely see her out there, she¡¯s outside the camp on watch for anything that might want to kill us, which as far as I¡¯m concerned would be just about everything out there.


    Dwellvari have excellent night vision, due to their race spending most of their lives underground. Her eyes literally shine like a cat in the dark; it¡¯s a little creepy at times to be honest. With her short size and doll like features she kind of looks like a possessed ceramic doll in the shadows... I shiver slightly, darn Chucky movies.


    I lay my head back against the rocky wall, we¡¯re conveniently right next to a mountain, and the shear cliffs make a great backrest. Ben in lying next to me, he¡¯s pretty tired, thanks to all the wolves we fought earlier today.


    Vorn tried teaching me how to skin a wolf, but I had a hard time of it, on top of Ben giving me an accusing stare the whole time. As if he thought he was next, I swear that dog is too smart for his own good. Or rather, was he always that smart?


    I¡¯d be a fool to not notice the changes in myself as well. First was the incident with the Crocs, that bright blue light¡­ then with the Daemon. What exactly is happening to me? When I told Vorn about it he gave me a complicated look, and asked me if my world had any connection to magic.


    I told him that those who stated they had magic in my world were either shunned as crazy or thought of as good performers on stage. He simply shook his head, stating that if there was magic, there would be no doubt of its existence.


    Apparently magic is rather flashy.


    He said we would look into it tomorrow before we enter the forest, but for now we needed some distance and rest. I agreed. Looking back at the sky, losing myself in its depth, I wonder if my home is out there somewhere. Probably not, according to my companions I came from a different reality entirely.


    Oddly enough, that put me in the same boat as Daemons and the like¡­ hope that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll be sprouting horns any time soon. Though it might be funny if Ben grew a pair.


    <===}=={===>


    The next morning I was woken by something wet repeatedly touching my face; Ben seemed to think I was a lollipop. Shooing him away I spotted Dola smiling at me as she packed her things.


    ¡°tha¡¯ pup is quite somethin, moment I started packin he woke ye up.¡± She giggled as she finished folding a thin sheet of fabric used for camping outdoors and placed it in a sling pack strung over her shoulder and fit tightly to her back. Those packs seem rather popular, even Vorn wore one under his cloak; next time I go traveling I¡¯ll need to pick up something similar.


    Ascending the steep slope leading to the forest below, Vorn walked casually over to us and sat on a small boulder. ¡°We¡¯re in luck, we should be able to reach the forest by mid day, if we hurry we¡¯ll be out before nightfall.¡± He stated flatly, an obvious look of ¡®things are never so easy¡¯ plastered on his face.


    He could at least try to look optimistic! Of course, given what I¡¯ve seen so far, I can¡¯t say I blame him for being a bit cynical. Also, with an inexperienced fighter in the group, things might get very dangerous.


    I¡¯ve had my share of scraps sure, but I¡¯m no trained warrior like Vorn, and my battle senses aren¡¯t as honed as Dola¡¯s. Though I have noticed I¡¯ve been getting better, even while just using a dagger I¡¯ve been improving little by little.


    Once we leave the forest Vorn will be separating from us to warn nearby settlements about the influx of undead we encountered. That just puts more strain on Dola, I need to get a bit more accustomed to fighting, or she might start to regret having me tag along.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Vorn said I¡¯d improve more if I used a weapon suited for me, but I¡¯d need to make do for now. It¡¯s weird, but Ben has been the most helpful one between us¡­ he¡¯s been growling each time before we are attacked, like an early warning signal. I swear something¡¯s changed in him too, but maybe it¡¯s due to all the fighting up till now?


    We began to move out, the sky is clear today at least. The weather around here is rather chaotic, according to Vorn it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if it were to rain for days. I can only hope our luck holds out, trudging through a swampy forest while it¡¯s raining and looking out for monstrous beasts is not my idea of a peaceful hiking trip.


    As we walked, staying as close to the rocky cliff face as physically possible, Vorn told Dola to take point and made his way next to me. ¡°Now then, let us see if we might learn something about your ¡®blue light¡¯,¡± he said with a hint of curiosity in his voice. Vorn was no master mage, but he had taken the test long ago, and was trained in basic magic related to his affinity. As such, he knew a few ways to determine magical talents.


    ¡°First, lets determine your aptitude,¡± with that, he reached down and picked up a small unremarkable pebble and placed it in my hand. Similarly, he held another in his own hand. ¡°Now then, watch carefully,¡± he said bringing his pebble up to eye level. ¡°Focus on the stone in your hand with your eyes, at the same time, attempt to reach for the center of the pebble with your Essence.¡±


    ¡°My Essence?¡± I say with a confused expression. Vorn looks at me and with a tired sigh replies, ¡°I forgot you don¡¯t even know what Essence is do you? Well let me show you this, and then I will explain.¡± Vorn looks intently at the pebble, and seems to block out all else. After only a second, I start to see something strange, the pebble is wavering¡­ no, its like there are heat lines distorting it ever so slightly. After a few seconds, the pebble completely disappears.


    My eyes are wide, and it took me a while to realize my jaw had dropped. I¡¯d been at the receiving end of magic once before, when Vorn forcefully taught me his language, and I¡¯ve seen his ring in action, but this was different. This was magic used without some odd jewelry or crystal, and I could see it from start to finish.


    Vorn relaxed his concentration and the pebble wavered back into existence. ¡°My affinity is towards illusion magic, affinities lessen the capabilities of the magic caster in other areas, but allow them to reach unheard of heights with their corresponding magic¡¯s. Thus my aura has this effect on the pebble.¡±


    Vorn went on to explain how Essence was at the heart of all things living or inanimate. Positive, or Additive Essence induces growth and life, whereas Negative or Subtractive Essence was a cold bitter opposite. Despite this, both were required for life to thrive properly.


    Within the body, there is something called Magical Essence and Natural Essence; Magical Essence can be linked to the soul, whereas Natural Essence makes up the body and all things physical.


    There are those who use their Magical Essence to create magic from within and use it externally, they are known as Mages. There are also those who use the surrounding Natural Essence to weave complicated spells, these individuals are known as Spell-Weavers. Both are powerful in their own right, but only the Magnus are capable of both kinds of magic. They are the ultimate magic casters and only a few reach their power.


    Listening to all this, I came to a few conclusions. First: magic is freaking complicated, second: this is the most I¡¯ve heard Vorn speak, and third: I hate this pebble. I tried with all my might and mental willpower but the pebble just stays there¡­ like it¡¯s mocking me.


    After some time of me holding my breath and making weird noises Vorn finally told me that it might take some time before my effort bore fruit. And I should try whenever we were relatively safer than at this very moment.


    Confused I looked up to find that we were now approaching the tree line. A bit crestfallen I look at the pebble in my hand and think, ¡®you win this round pebble, you win this round.¡¯ And tossed the pebble to the ground. Time sure did fly by, but we were almost away from this dismal place and on our way to civilization.


    The smell of wet rot and the slight hint of life assaulted me; the earth beneath my feet became softer and almost spongy. I could hear the sounds of birds, though none of them I recognized. Insects were flying around making it more uncomfortable the closer we got.


    I guess no matter what world you¡¯re in bugs will bug you. I think to myself with a distasteful expression, swatting an insect before it got a taste of me. On that note, we entered the forest; Vorn took point, warning us not to stray too far from sight.


    The humid air of the forest made it harder to move and breath, but we trudged on with purpose. The smell of rot and decay became stronger the deeper we trudged into this place, the sun dimmed into a cold twilight and mist seemed to seep from the earth.


    ¡°SNUFF!¡± Ben sneezed rather violently, not even ten seconds in and our early warning signal has a runny nose¡­ I have a bad feeling about this¡­ but I had a bad feeling from the start, so I¡¯ll just ignore it for now.


    <===}=={===>


    Some distance away, a small pebble lay propped up upon a cluster of weeds and grass. It began to crumble in on itself, small cracks webbed across its surface, until a strong wind blew and its remains, like dust, were carried off by the wind.


    <===}=={===>


    Fiction Page</a>

 Ch:9 - Wrong Neck of the Woods

    Please comment on what you like so far, also if there are any questions or concerns please don''t hesitate to say something! :) This one was PRed by me a few times but if there are any mistakes please do point them out!


    OH! and i dumbed down Dola''s accent a bit, was too thick before lol i''ll change it in earlier chapters later :keh:


    <===]==[===>


    It wasn¡¯t long before the sounds of birds were fading the deeper we went into the forest. Until all that could be heard was an eerie silence, with the occasional twig snapping under my untrained feet.


    The bottoms of the trees seemed rotted and misshapen, but high above were a canopy of leaves and branches that only allowed the smallest amount of light to pass.


    Here and there a chilling fog coated the earth, in these places we did not step since anything could hide in the mist. Vorn was ahead, clearing the way of cobwebs and breaking branches with nary a sound. He did so to mark the path, and make it easier to travel for his group.


    Ben was oddly inactive, his ears were down and his tail was between his legs. Animal instincts must be telling him something, surely if I wasn¡¯t here he would have run off and joined a wolf pack or something. I smile faintly at the thought of a Labrador leading a pack of fierce wolves. As if.


    As for my other companion, Dola has been quiet this whole time. From the look on her face she is definitely out of her element. Her being about half the size of a human makes it difficult for her to bypass fallen logs and lets face it, she may be a Dwellvar, but this mud smells like shit.


    I just thank my lucky stars Vorn is here. Without him we would have most likely stumbled on wild animals or fallen into a mud pool. I wasn¡¯t keen on either. Dola had used the outskirts close to the mountain to get to the cave we came from, but that way would take days.


    According to Vorn we didn¡¯t have days if we wanted to warn the settlements. If that army decided to attack while we were busy sight seeing it would be a massacre.


    Vorn may not be an active Green Warden anymore, but he still took his old duty seriously. Preserve the balance of the world and protect life from the corrosive influence of darker powers. It all sounded so inspiring, but I know now that those words barely described his duty.


    Seeing as I didn¡¯t really want my safety to endanger hundreds of lives I agreed to the shortcut. Also I have no idea where the fuck I¡¯m going¡­ either reason is valid. This didn¡¯t change the fact that this forest was incredibly dangerous. I¡¯ve heard more about it than I would have liked to.


    Deformed creatures and monsters were commonplace here, thankfully the forest was huge, and there were ways to avoid contact with the more dangerous beasts. However beasts weren¡¯t the only danger.


    Even the forest itself could lash out against us if we weren¡¯t carful. I had thought this a joke until I witnessed the trees move as if to crush something from my vantage point on the ridge before we set out in the morning.


    This place is not meant for people, this is where the monsters lay in wait, watching, hunting, stalking their prey. As I think this I try to suppress the shiver running down my spine. I grip the dagger in my right hand tightly, anxiety taking hold.


    Every shadow has its secrets in this place. And if you stare for too long, you may end up waking those secrets, quite literally. So I followed the leader, Vorn was a font of experience, and he would from time to time have us stop and listen to the surroundings.


    I heard nothing, but about an hour into the forest Ben growled softly. Vorn looked worriedly at him, but a sudden noise made him whip his head around to its source. Motioning for us to get down and shut up¡­ okay not shut up but I did that anyway. Vorn stared hard at the source of the sound. The suspense was killer on my nerves.


    The bushes shook a bit before a large boar like animal came out. Its tusks are white and half as long as my arm. It has an armoured back like large scales overlapping each other. Instead of hooves it has three large toes with talon like claws. Its red eyes surveyed the area, its pig like snout testing the air all the while.


    Ben was also sniffing away, but he wasn¡¯t stupid enough to confront the beast. We stay there, crouched down and waiting for about twenty minutes before a loud screech could be heard. The boar beast was digging for what I can only assume were grubs or roots when this sound pierced through the area.


    It lifted its head in surprise and started to look around nervously, Vorn, seeing it distracted motioned for us to move away from it. With luck we could let the predator eat its prey and move along unhindered.


    Too late¡­


    With a thundering crack, a tree fell behind the boar spooking it further. Without a second thought it started to run in our direction. It never made it to us however. A large brown streak of blurred movement fell on top of it from one of the many surrounding large trees. And with one great hit, the boar was laying broken on the forest floor.


    Naturally at this point we are all stunned. I want to get the hell out of here but something deep down tells me not to put my back to this creature. The boar beast was still alive¡­ barely, but this new arrival didn¡¯t seem to care. With strength that seemed impossible it tore a leg off the still squealing prey.


    The initial shock wore off, and I took a close look at the predator in front of us, not even two meters away past the bushes we used to hide ourselves in. If I were to compare the thing to an animal I know, it would be an ape. But this was no distant relative of mine!


    Towering at about eight feet tall and probably weighing more than a ton the Ape was truly intimidating. As if to make the thing even more imposing, it sported sharp fangs and a powerful jaw that could crush bones. And its body didn¡¯t just have brown hair.


    A chitin like exoskeleton armour protected its arms and upper body. I could also clearly see the muscle rippling through the beasts body, and with arms like a cannon, its no wonder it could one shot a creature of the boars size. Also its internal skeleton must be thick, since its forehead was like a hammer.


    The ape monster, for it truly was a monster I don¡¯t care what anyone else says. Let out a piercing howl that shook the trees and almost made me go deaf. It then proceeded to voraciously eat the leg it held in one hand. The boar beast was dead now, finally succumbing to its injuries.


    Around this time I remembered there were other people with me, and the first person I looked to was Vorn. His face was pale and looked to have aged many years, not a good sign. Dola was tightly gripping her pick and biting her lip with a look that told me enough to understand.


    We¡¯re screwed! Game over man! where¡¯s the restart button?!


    Ben was gone, damn dog, saving himself. I didn¡¯t even see him go. Must have been spooked rather badly. Though I cant really blame him, he¡¯s even afraid of thunder for crying out loud. Probably curled shivering under a bush somewhere. I¡¯ll give him the disappointment glare later, if I survive this.


    Now I can only wait for what Vorn decides to do. I only hope whatever he plans on doing he does it soon, the boar will only last so long, we¡¯re running low on time.


    ={====>Vorn Harzan<====}=


    Blast it all to the void! It was all going so well too! They may not be experts but they knew enough to be quiet and keep relatively calm. I had expected to run into trouble, but this? How could I have anticipated a Gorgar? They normally live deep in the Untamed Lands in the higher reaches where more powerful beasts reside, why is one so close to the border?


    Perhaps someone or something chased it out of its territory. Either way, our chances of slipping away unnoticed are slim to none. It may not look it, but this is an incredibly intelligent creature and it¡¯s hearing is acute. Should I try fighting it? From this vantage we would have an opportunity, I may get a good strike in and cripple the beast.


    I look at the others only to find them looking at me. We may have a chance, Dola is strong and Blake seems to have a sense for fighting. But the first strike has to be me. I subconsciously squeeze the hilts of my weapons. Both of them will be needed. Thankfully this Gorgar is not an undead, my other blade will affect him.


    Giving Dola a wink to reassure her, and nodding to Blake who has the look of a man who just saw a Dragon for the very first time and is terrified. Although I suppose he actually will see one for the very first time sooner or later if we survive this. Just another reason for this old man to protect the young ones I suppose.


    Silently, I draw my blades; in one hand is my favorite, an indestructible blade made by the best blacksmith in my order. Honestly it¡¯s my favorite more so because it¡¯s been with me for so long, a faithful companion from the start of my life as a Green Warden.


    In the other hand is my trusted Hrender. Craigor¡­ Dola¡¯s father forged this one himself. An Extrinium blade forged with my own blood and bound to my aura. Only the Dwellvari can forge Extrinium. A pure black metal that is nearly impossible to destroy. Not due to any enchantments, like my other sword, it¡¯s just that tough, like the Dwellvar that forge it.


    Everything will be decided on the first strike. I close my eyes and focus on the Essence within, willing it to Hrender. The blade starts to react, a soft, nearly inaudible hum is heard, and the area around the blade begins to distort.


    Due to the nature on my affinity, Hrender can draw out my potential from Illusion Magic to its fullest extent. My aura also strengthens the blade and burns anyone other than me who dares to touch it. At least this beast is an Alpha type, meaning no other enemies within the area should interfere.


    ={====>Blake Lambet<====}=


    Vorn seemed deep in thought for a while, a scowl like no other on his face. I can see where all his wrinkles come from. After a few seconds his expression softened a bit, and turned to Dola. He winked. Not in a creepy old man way, but in a reassuring way. Dola gave a worried smile then nodded.


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    He then nodded to me and slowly drew is weapons, this was the first time he had even drawn both weapons if from of me. Honestly I was starting to think there was something special about his other sword. I wasn¡¯t wrong.


    Like always his usual blade gave off a powerful feeling, like it was a sword filled with pride. It was a blade of simple beauty, no golden filigree or fancy hilt, a sword with a purpose. That was its charm. The other however was odd. The pure black metal it was made of seemed to move, as though alive. And small runes decorated the blade, much like the ones on Dola¡¯s Pickaxe.


    The hilt was wrapped in dark leather straps to form a solid yet comfortable grip and the guard had a few faintly glowing blue stones. The glow wasn¡¯t enough to cast light on the surroundings but enough to suggest it was a powerful weapon, worthy of respect.


    Vorn closed his eyes for a moment and the new blade in his left hand seemed to hum softly before the blade itself distorted and moved like liquid. This was just like with the pebble, only this time it was a blade that distorted. What exactly is this sword?


    Vorn watched the Ape as it devoured the boar, a look of resignation on his face. I know now that there is no getting around this. We have to fight, we have to win, and Vorn will attack first. The whites of my knuckles are showing from the tightness I hold the dagger.


    God I wish I had a bigger weapon. Like an axe or a mini-gun, a tank might work¡­ my little dagger against the chitin plated monkey spawn from hell. I think I¡¯ll keep my distance and only attack once I see an opening.


    It was quiet, the only sounds coming from the monster eating its fill. Then it started. Vorn moved quickly and with little sound, his blades at the ready, poised for a lethal blow. The Ape looked behind it just in time to see two blades aimed for the back of its neck.


    Damn.


    The blades stabbed the Ape perfectly though an opening in the chitin, but the thing moved at the last second, avoiding a lethal hit. It was slowed though; the blood matted its hair and dripped from its chitin. Howling in pain and anger the Ape faced Vorn and rushed him with power that could crush a boulder.


    However, before it could reach him it was hit by Dola¡¯s Pickaxe that ripped into its leg and made it stumble off balance. The pure fury in its eyes was terrifying, it now was wary of the two insects that dared to attack it. Its injuries would not kill it, but they were still rather severe and would slow it down.


    Dola was smiling now, any trace of uncertainty gone and replace with bloodlust, she had charged when it was focusing on Vorn and was unnoticed due to her small size. It was going well, but the Ape was more or less pissed off now, and wary. It eyed the two, circling them just outside the range of their weapons.


    Its back is to me, Dola and Vorn moved around it to put it in a good position for me. But I should wait until it gets ready to attack them again right? Or perhaps I should use the enchantment of the dagger and throw it. But then I wouldn¡¯t have a weapon. Damn, where¡¯s my bazooka!?


    Vorn went in to attack again, the black blade in his hand shimmering with a deep purple Aura. The ape went to block it with its chitin-protected arm but Vorn¡¯s blade went right through¡­ Seriously, right through without damage. The image of Vorn then disappeared as his real body passed through it, the illusion dissipating like smoke in his wake.


    With a savage expression I had never seen him make before Vorn went for a killing blow, but the ape was smarter than that. It shifted its body and used the chitin on its chest to deflect the strike. Then one tree trunk of an arm came crashing down. Vorn dodged but was blown away by the impact all the same. He was tossed a good ten feet away.


    Dola, seeing Vorn on the ground, went to take the Apes attention from him, it was about to strike her as well when I rushed it from behind and landed a shallow wound on its other unwounded leg. Blood rushed through my entire body, adrenaline and fear making me move faster than I thought I could.


    But not fast enough.


    I saw the arm swing at me, and felt the overpowered bitch-slap keenly. I flew a good distance before hitting a tree and stopping. Luck was on my side though, since I didn¡¯t hit my head, but damn! The pain! I think I broke a rib, GAH! Two ribs.


    Dola used the opportunity though and swiped at the chitin protecting its chest. Like a rock wall it cracked and crumbled, a shallow wound in its flesh. But the damn monkey was persistent and still stood¡­ fury beyond reason in its eyes.


    With a howl that split the bark of the trees around us it rushed in and was about to smash Dola to paste, but Vorn was back! I love that guy, such a badass! He used the Apes momentum against it and pierced the opening in its armour that Dola had made.


    I was sure that was the end, relief filled me and I let out a large breath. But then the air got caught in my lungs. The Ape was still alive, and Vorn was way too close. With power unmatched it swung its sledgehammer like fist. He didn¡¯t have the room or the time to dodge, so he tried to block as best he could. Vorn went flying again, but this time¡­ he wasn¡¯t moving.


    The black blade was still embedded in the Apes torso; I could hear a sizzling sound coming from it. Like it was burning flesh. Dola screamed out and went on the offensive. I try to move, no, I have to move! She can¡¯t win alone, damn why am I so fucking weak!?


    Practically crawling on the ground, I approach the two; Dola is fighting it by using its height against it. She runs through its legs and attacks it quickly, exchanging power for speed and flexibility. She¡¯s doing well, but she¡¯s tired, the tears in her eyes, show her worry for Vorn, and it fuels her attacks but she cant last forever.


    I¡­ need¡­ to help her. I stand with great effort with the dagger I had dropped when I was flung off to the side. This thing won¡¯t kill it, but if I distract it long enough for Dola. The pain is immense, but faced with imminent death and the death of those who helped me. I run.


    Ignoring the pain that burns with every step, ignoring the protests from my sore limbs. Something inside me was burning, no, blazing hotter than the pain. I could feel it fueling my steps and making me lighter. Until I was there, the Ape was blocking an attack from Dola. An opening.


    With more force than I knew I could give I plunged the dagger into the leathery skin, and the Howl that followed nearly broke my new found resolve.


    ¡°Now! Kill it Dola!¡± I shouted at the top of my lungs, trying to be heard over the ear splitting howl. But Dola just stood there, Pickaxe over head about to attack¡­ a surprised look on her doll like face.


    ¡°What are you waiting for!? Kill-¡±


    I finally notice what she¡¯s so surprised about, my hand¡­ its on fire. Dark blue flames run down from my shoulder to my fist. The daggers blade is also aflame, but it seems to be¡­ disintegrating. The flesh is also disintegrating where the flames touch it, the Ape is still alive, and it¡¯s not howling like it was before. It¡¯s face looks almost lifeless.


    I dismiss the confusion and take the godsend for what it is. We can debate over what happed if we survive. Right now the only thing that matters is¡­


    ¡°Dola, finish it.¡± I would but her pick would be faster. She seems to snap out of it, and then brings the pick down with all her strength piercing it in the abdomen and making a hole that nothing on this world or mine would wake up from.


    I collapse, holding my side and vomiting blood. The dark blue flame is the last thing I see before I pass out. Slowly guttering out.


    ={=====> Dola Ironhide <=====}=


    He passed out.


    The odd blue fire that engulfed his arm was starting to gutter out. Only a small flame could be seen still burning. I look where the dagger was and I¡¯m surprised to see it nearly completely gone, like it was rusted away. Just what was that, when I saw it, I felt weak, as though it were draining me very spirit.


    I even stopped moving and just stared at it in shock and could feel a cold sweat run down me back by just lookin at it. I felt as though I was in a tunnel with little air and was slowly suffocating.


    Shaking me head I dismissed the thoughts. Uncle Vorn! Is he all right?! I ran to where I saw him land, and inspected his wounds. The external were fine, a broken arm and a lot of bruises, some old-fashioned Dwellvari medicine would fix em up right as stone. Well It¡¯s mostly alcohol but it does the trick!


    But the internal, I couldn¡¯t tell, I¡¯m no healer by trade. Unpacking a blanket I use when camping for the night. I wrapped him up tight and dragged him carfully to where the corpse of the Gorgar was. Usually the animals and beasts would flock to the easy meal.


    But a Gorgar was different.


    Just the smell of it would repel almost all the creatures in the forest. Which is why it used the trees to move about. Where it could hide its scent.


    Even when dead, they wouldn¡¯t dare approach; anything that could kill a Gorgar was superior to most in these woods. I can only hope one of em wakes soon; I can¡¯t carry both for Baerridun¡¯s sake!


    I look at Blake; he seems to be rather uncomfortable, though I admit I ain¡¯t exactly in tip top shape myself. That ability of his truly was strange, at first I thought it was an aura, but the flames, if that is truly what they were, seemed to be more erratic and unstable.


    ¡°He¡¯s like an ingot waitin to be forged into something grand. Can¡¯t wait to see the finished result.¡± I say with a warm smile. Oh what am I saying! If father heard me praising a man so¡­ I shudder to think what he¡¯d do to the poor soul. Outsiders rarely saw Dwellvari women for a reason.


    I went to work on the surroundings. Using the Gorgar¡¯s entrails and blood to mark the surrounding area. This should deter animals and beasts, but I hope they wake before Gogs or Goblins find us.


    <===]==[===>


    Fiction Page</a>

 Notice

    I deleted the old message here because it didnt really fit anymore.


    I apologise to everyone who wanted this story to continue, even though I do want to continue it and I did plan to continue after finishing the first book of World Genesis I became very sick. I''ve been trying my best to get myself to a good place again so I can write like I used to without feeling ill and having that affect my writing.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    It''s been tough and I doubt anyone is still around who will even bother to read this but I am still trying and I hope one day soon to return to this and write again. I still plan on finishing WG first, but even that story is on hold for me right now because I have to focus on my health right now. Hopefully everything gets better soon, if you came here even after all this time to read this then I thank you for all your support and patience.