Out of Time the Grand Quest

by Christopher Douglass

  “I want to change our daughters name to Kimberly if that’s okay with you. That girl out there is something special, I can feel it in my bones.”

  “That’s fine. Kimberly isn’t a bad name either.”

  They sat there for the next forty minutes, not saying anything else, just holding hands and sipping the moonshine of a timeline that no longer existed while they watched the city in the gathering dusk. When the message came that all was ready, Jeremy stood slowly, placing his mask back on his face as he grabbed the bottle around the neck. Tipping it to the side he let the remainder drain out on the floor.

  “For those who passed before and those who come after. May your sacrifices be remembered and your victories never forgotten. May your defeats be few and your sorrows fewer. Farewell my brothers and sisters of the battlefield. Farewell my mothers and fathers. Farewell to forgotten heroes and villains. I come to join you soon.”

  When the bottle was empty he threw it at the floor with force. Already a robot had come out of hiding to clean up the mess. He took Marrion’s hand as she too stood. They shared a kiss that was as passionate as the day he had first met her. Reminding him of all the years they had shared.

  “I love you Marrion. Never forget that. You were the only thing I was able to give my everything too. The one I trusted the most, loved the most, and would give anything for. Now I give you the future.”

  Their foreheads touched and she wiped the tears from his cheeks just as he wiped away hers.

  “I will never forget you, my love. Show them how a Great Sage of Atlantis meets his demise.”

  With another prolonged kiss, the two left his private room and returned to the main chamber. When the two of them entered, dozens of fists came up to chests in salute. From soldiers to Controllers. It made an audible snap that echoed in the suddenly confined space.

  “Sir, five dozen men ready to step through with you and awaiting orders.”

  Among the five dozen, Jeremy saw Jared give him a nod, one warrior to another. Oddly, that eased his fears just a little. Jared knew he also had little chance of surviving the transition, but he was still willing to take that small chance to fight in case he survived. It wasn’t like his death was assured the moment he walked through the barrier. He still had a thirty percent chance of survival. And thirty was still better than zero.

  Three Seers were in the corner along with the Controllers, large masses of wires running all over the place and part of the floor ripped up completely. The exposed circuitry and glowing blue orb of one of EVE’s thousands of cores reminding him of a dissected animal. Marrion took her position at the head of a team of men and women with Encyclopedia powers, Quis forefront among them. Marrion donned a silver circlet designed to amplify her abilities and link her mind with all the rest. Already Kimberly had an earpiece attached to the side of her head. Even her mother had one on. From the look on both faces, he knew without asking Valerie was planning on going as well. Jeremy offered Kimberly his hand and she took it without hesitation.

  “Just like last time, close your eyes and imagine where you want to go. Only this time let yourself relax. I’ll do all the work. You will feel like someone is pulling your power out of you, that is natural. Because I will be. I will draw on your Other ability to add to my own.”

  “Okay.”

  A Controller attached some wires to his free hand and backed off. Reaching out he settled his mind in the familiar patterns. The sudden surge of power from the batteries sending every hair on his body to tingling. His inner eye traveled along the invisible paths he saw. Winding through the lattice of the barrier cutting him off from Aerth. When he was ready he sliced down through reality, rending open the doorway.

  The world around them shook, and he could see the green fields on the other side. Then, the door closed once more ,eliciting a quick swear word from his lips.

  “Not enough energy! I need more power!”

  “That’s everything we have, sir! All four hundred batteries are wide open. The barrier is just too unstable.”

  “Vagnatch! If only we had one more person to link to. But all the those strong enough are out Observing, and I don’t trust the ones still here.”

  “Just one more person?”

  Jeremy looked over at Kimberly with a short nod. “Aye. I just need a little more power to open the doorway wide enough for the machines to do the rest.”

  “How about one more mage?”

  Kimberly pulled a small vial of clear liquid from her pocket, breaking the seal with her thumb. “I promised a little boy I would come back, I don’t intend to break that promise now.”

  She drank whatever was inside, her eyes opening wide as her head shook. Jeremy could feel the sudden influx of energy inside of her through their shared link. Her body vibrated with power. Quickly he sent his mind outward once more, seeking that safe passage. Viciously he swiped his hand downward like a sword strike, rending reality once more. The doorway opened, wavered as if fighting to close itself, then with an audible ripping sound it grew ever wider.

  “That’s it, sir! It will take about twenty minutes to fully tear down the veil but we are stable.”

  Jeremy turned around to face the waiting soldiers willing to follow him into this new world they had never seen before. He threw a fist high into the air as he shouted.

  “To war!”

  “To war!”

  Sixty voices deafened him as sixty fist raised in response. Needing no further words, Jeremy faced the doorway once more and stepped through.

  Chapter 39: The Boy Who Believed

  “Holy Knights! On me!”

  Eleven bodies in full silver and gold chain mail armor ran towards Uncle Gram with swords drawn and shields out. The jangling of their mail rang out above the sound of battle not far away.

  “Knight’s, defensive position! Interlock shields! Brace for impact! Charge!”

  As one unified force, twelve shields grew until they were the same size as the owners bodies. The edges clanked together to create a wall of glistening steel. As one, the wall ran forward, keeping pace with the others. As one, it slammed into the onrushing horde of Hill Giants and Mountain Trolls. Feet dug into soil as the creatures pushed back. Swords sprang into action, stabbing upwards as the monsters tried to reach over the edges.

  While Uncle Gram and the Holy Knights of Yandor were holding back the wave, Grandpa Joel led a small army of mages into the battle. They flung spells from behind the safety of the shield wall, throwing the creatures off balance. Blue, green, red, orange, purple, yellow. Lightning and fire and pure energy of every color slammed into faces, bodies, and arms. Roars of pain echoed in the morning air. A few Giants toppled to the ground dead, only to be used as stepping stones to reach a higher vantage point by the monsters behind them.

  With a primal yell, Grandma Grell burst from the ground behind the monsters, a small army of mediators on her heels. Her body glistened, its steel shell blinding the Trolls and Giants that turned to meet her forces. Chief among the mediators who fought beside her was Frank, who was now completely healed from his ordeal while on Quest. He stood toe to toe with the eight foot Trolls, wearing their skin and shape to do so. Blow for blow he pounded on them. But unlike the semi-intelligent creatures, Frank blocked fists that came at him and countered with strikes too advanced for their minds to handle.

  The ground rose like a tidal wave from the right to swamp the creatures trying to flank the mediators. Jordon turned his head to see Big Sis Maria leading another contingent of mages and mediators into action. Among them he saw Bree, Amy, and Isabelle, all the heroes of the Quest. Her staff carved in the shape of a stylized Quester’s Tree and the blue robes of a Grand Wizard billowed in a raging tempest of wind that swirled around her. The pure white of her magic seared the creatures as it struck. Jordon found it hard to believe her magic was of the Holy category. Only one in five hundred mages were known to be born with such an element, and never as strong as hers was. Jordon looked again at all the heroes of the
Quest. At all the mages and mediators in town who struggled not ten feet from the Quester’s Tree that still stood outside the gates with a single branch still attached.

  No, not all heroes. Kimi was still out there somewhere. But Jordon knew she would be back. She had promised. The Quester’s Tree said she was alive. The Tree never lied. It had never been wrong.

  Jordon tore his eyes away from the fighting on the other side of the town arches, surveying the small defensive camp set up on the Grand Path. Tents were filled with weapons, with food and drink, even with the energy candies usually only reserved for the Festivals. He wanted to go home, back to Grandpa Joel and Grandma Grell’s place. Where him and Kimi and Maria would sit and laugh and tell stories round the table. Where Grandpa Joel would teach him some tricks he could do with his Flora magic, and bicker with Grandma Grell. The rest of the town wasn’t safe yet after the poison gas attack though. Thanks to Grandpa and Big Sis Maria’s swift actions, only four people had died to the Belcher attacks. The other dozen were still being treated in the infirmary tents. Jordon could still see the green mist on the other side of Maria’s barrier in the distance from here if he squinted his eyes.

  “I can’t do it anymore!”

  The outburst had come from one of the runners who took new weapons out to the battlefront when old ones broke. Sometimes food and drink if the fighting lasted long enough. As if in response, a giant tree creaked and groaned as it stepped out of the forest to swipe a branch through the dwindling enemy. It looked like his master had recovered enough to enter the fight once more. One of the mages who’s abilities laid in enhancing the effectiveness of food and drink she blessed tried to reason with the boy. Jordon moved his eyes yet again to the other children from the orphanage and the town huddled in the corner shivering in fear. There were two new ones now because of the Belcher attack, and they had the same blank look he remembered having. The one that said they couldn’t grasp what had happened yet.

  “You must! Daniel won’t survive much longer without a new sword, Grell needs some energy tablets, and someone needs to help the injured off the battlefield so they don’t get killed. You signed up for this, people are counting on you.”

  “I won’t! I’m tired of all this fighting and I just can’t do it anymore! I can’t go out there and see all that blood up close, or the blank faces staring at me!”

  Gritting his teeth, Jordon marched up to the boy and punched him as hard as he could in the side, stopping his complaints.

  “Shut up! The shecret of courage ish being able to clamp down on your fear and act like you aren’t! Shometimes that ish the only kind of courage you can count on. It’sh eashy to shtand up and act all big and bad when you know there ish no danger to yourself. When you know you are more powerful or more skilled than the other guy. But being able to shtand up when your kneesh are knocking together and you know you are going to die or get really hurt, that’sh real courage.”

  Without another word Jordon picked up the sword and energy candies on the table in front of the mage and ran as fast as he could towards the fighting. The sword was a lot heavier than he thought it would be. The tip dragged against the ground despite how much he tried to lift it. His legs felt like jelly and his body shivered hard enough to make him think it would shake apart. Still, he gritted his teeth and kept running, because he knew Kimi would do the same.

  Uncle Gram hid behind his shield, using it to smack away hands and uppercut chins when they got too close. He jumped out of the way of sweeping fingers, but Jordon could see the sweat on his face and the way he was tiring. Jordon dodged to the side as a fist came down in front of him. Uncle Gram lifted his shield and braced for a punch, not seeing the fist of another Giant coming from the side. The defensive wall had broken and he was all alone. Without thinking, Jordon threw out his hand, vines hanging from a nearby tree came to life and wrapped around the second fist. Uncle Gram looked back at him with a smile of thanks, reaching for the sword he held out.

  The moment his hand wrapped around the hilt, he swung it around with a grunt, spinning it while it arched so when it met the fist Jordon had bound, the point slid through to pin it to the ground.

  “Split and render!”

  At Uncle Gram’s shout, the sword Jordan had just given him shimmered, ripping through flesh as one sword became twelve. A shadow knight made of pure light formed on each sword, a large shield growing on the left arm. It was Uncle Gram’s Other ability, Knight’s Honor. Jordon had heard tales about it, but had never seen it before. With a shout, Uncle Gram and his eleven shadow warriors charged forward with swords raised. The sight gave him courage. They were doing their all, so he had to as well.

  Running around the bulk of the fighting, Jordon weaved in and out of legs and under monster fists. He jumped and dodged, backtracked and rolled, dove and spun to avoid the chaos. His eyes on Grandma Grell who’s body looked more like rock than steel now. She saw him coming, his arm outstretched with the energy candy. Two troll’s swung at her. She caught each fist in one of her own, her feet sinking into the dirt as her arms played tug of war with the monsters. She opened her mouth and Jordon fed her a candy the moment he got close enough. She chewed and swallowed, a smile and a nod his reward. Her arms bulged as her fingers dug into the hard skin of the Troll’s. With a yank, she pulled the two towards her. Her head turned metallic as she thrust it forward, three foreheads met at the same time, but two fell over afterwards dazed and confused. This allowed four other mediators to swarm the creatures until they were dead.

  Jordon handed Grell the other two candies before running back towards the safety of Yandor. When a Giant went after him, Jordon made the grass grow far above his head, slipping through the stalks to the side while the monster lumbered in a straight line searching for him. He couldn’t do much with his power yet, but Kimi had taught him he could still do something. His power wasn’t useless or weak. It was untrained, but not useless. He had to survive until Kimi came back, to show her how much he had grown. He wanted to hear her say she was proud of him.

  He wanted to thank her for helping him find his courage.

  “Ahhh!”

  Jordon stopped at the sound. Ahead, Maria was standing over a boy who’s legs were clearly broken. They looked little more than pulp from the knees down. A Giant with a bloody fist faced down Maria, giving Jordon an idea of what had broken his legs. Clenching his fists he headed for the two of them. Maria was holding the monster off with a barrier of light but she was struggling. He could see that clearly. She was strong, but she hadn’t partnered with anyone yet. Jordon knew there were still limits to her power.

  Looking around he saw one of Master Heartbloom’s walking trees smashed to splinters. Thrusting out his hand he concentrated as hard as he could, willing his body to control more magic than it had before. Slowly, two large shards rose into the air, quivering in his inexpert grasp. Holding his breath he swiped his arm to the side, sending the shards on their way straight into the Giant’s eyes.

  It howled, reaching up to inadvertently shove the slivers deeper by clamping its hands over its orbs. Maria used that moment to lance it with ten spears of light, ending its pain and its life. Maria was about to run off once more when Jordon grabbed her arm.

  “Come back to camp. Resht a bit.”

  “I can still fight!”

  “Not if you die! Don’t be foolish! What good ish killing one more Troll if you die to the second one! Come back, resht, eat, drink, and regain magic!”

  Maria looked from Jordon to the battle where only a handful of magical creatures remained. With a sigh she nodded, lifting the injured man up on a platform of light before following along next to Jordon.

  When Jordon got back to camp, the other orphans watched him with open mouths and wide eyes. He couldn’t help but smile and puff out his chest as he walked next to Maria. They had played at being knights and fighting evil monsters, but unlike them, he had actually done so. While they had cowered in the corner and waited for other people to protect
them, he had risked his life in real combat. He had even helped kill a Giant.

  The mage heading up the supply tent gave him a smile of thanks as the boy he had punched earlier came running in from the battle as well. He felt his chest swell even more, knowing deep down he was the reason the boy had gone out again. Jordon walked with Maria to the back of the camp where the infirmary was. Inside the main tent, anyone with any kind of healing skills was hard at work patching up the wounded. Even Misha, the crazy old lady who believed her husband had been turned into a cat was there. He had heard whispers her magic was curses, but he had never actually seen her curse anyone. The way she sewed up open wounds while chewing her lower lip made her seem normal.

  “Jas’, I’ve got another one for you. Think you can do anything for him?”

  Jordon suddenly noticed the medic covered in blood in front of them was Isabelle’s mediator Jasmine. He was glad he wasn’t the one doing the talking. Even before she had gone on Quest, he had thought she was pretty and had a crush on her. Now that she was back, she was even prettier. He couldn’t explain how exactly, she just was.

  But not as pretty as Kimi. Jordon didn’t know why he didn’t get tongue tied around Kimi. He did around other pretty girls. There was just something about Kimi that was easy to talk to and didn’t make him nervous. Maria was the same way to an extent, but sometimes he still felt at a loss for words around Maria.

  Jasmine studied the boy who was still moaning and shook her head slowly. “I’m not sure. Set him down over there next to Ellie. She can block his pain for now until someone can get to him.”

  “We got a gusher here!”

  Two knights carried in a third soldier who had a large tear in his chain mail. He had ribs showing through the metal and blood flying everywhere while he tried to hold a hand over it. Jasmine burst into action, fine thread flying from her fingers to cocoon the soldiers wound. “Maddy, we need more hot water in here. Misha, can you do anything about his ruptured lung?”