by A. J. Markam
“KRUG, IT’S ME!” I yelled.
On hearing my voice, Krug froze.
“…Ian?” he asked, his voice unsure.
“Hey, man. Long time no see.”
He looked over to the left. “…Alaria?”
She twiddled her fingers to say hello. “Hi, Krug.”
Meera suddenly spoke up. “Ian, why is there a very large demon in my living room?”
“Meera, this is Krug, an old friend. Krug, Meera.”
Krug didn’t acknowledge the introduction, but instead looked all around him in bewilderment. “Where am I?”
“Exardus.”
“But – just a second ago I was…” Krug’s voice trailed off, and then his shoulders slumped dejectedly. “I died, didn’t I.”
“‘Fraid so.”
“And you just brought me back.”
“Yeah.”
“The others – ”
“They died, too. All of them.”
“Damn it…”
“What happened?”
“Tarka took back control of the Revenge.”
I stared at him. “What?! That’s impossible!”
“Apparently not,” Krug said drily.
When Alaria and I had disembarked the Revenge for the last time, we had left Tarka naked in a magical pair of wooden stocks.
The stocks negated all her powers. We’d left her naked because… well, even though she was our prisoner… she kind of liked to get freaky with me and Alaria and –
Never mind.
There were more important issues at hand.
“How’d she get out of the stocks?!”
My blood ran cold at his answer:
“A warlock helped her.”
“Did you catch his name?”
“No.”
“What did he look like?”
Krug frowned. “I never actually saw him… he only attacked from the shadows.”
“Did he kill you, or did Tarka?”
“He did… I think.”
“Where were you when you died?”
“Coming up out of the hold.”
“No, I mean, where geographically?”
“Oh. I’m not sure.”
“What do you mean, you’re not sure?”
“Tarka took back control of the ship while we were over the Balos Archipelago. She and the warlock ordered all of us into the hold, and we stayed there two and a half days.”
Two and a half days…
According to Grok, Abaddon had been destroyed three days before.
The warlock must have somehow gotten from Abaddon to the Revenge almost immediately. Maybe he had portal powers, too?
“They slaughtered us out of nowhere,” Krug continued. “The doors to the hold opened and a light began shooting through us. We tried to fight back, but… we never had a chance.”
My stomach tightened. “Did the warlock say anything weird while he was on the ship? Something odd or nonsensical?”
Krug frowned. “No. Not that I can recall.”
Okay, so no third clue.
“Is the Balos Archipelago near Kvartos?” I asked.
“What?” Krug asked, confused. “No, it’s 2000 miles away.”
That made no sense. If the warlock was following my path geographically, he should have hit Kvartos –
Except for one thing.
The Revenge was a hell of a lot more significant to me personally. Kvartos was basically just a random city I’d passed through.
But Fernburg was where I’d met Stig and Alaria…
Abaddon was where I’d had my first enormous triumph in the game…
And the Revenge was immensely important in our adventures.
Which meant the next stop had to be –
“Shit,” I muttered.
Alaria had the same thought. She looked over at me in panic. “Eluun!”
Eluun was the high priestess of the frost elves’ religion – their all-female, orgiastic, sex-centered religion.
Eluun was good and kind, the polar opposite of her evil boss Saykir. Not to mention she was smokin’ hot and great in bed.
After defeating Saykir, Alaria and I had spent several amazing days with Eluun and the other frost elves doing, uh, ‘frost elf religious rites,’ I guess you could say.
When we departed the Northern Barrens, we’d left Eluun in charge.
Which meant now she and all her sister elves were in danger.
“We have to go to the Northern Barrens,” I said. “Like, right now.”
“Who’s ‘we’?” Krug said grumpily.
I looked over at him, pissed. “Oh – I guess it doesn’t count that I just brought you back from the dead, huh?”
He grudgingly acquiesced. “…alright, I guess I’m ‘we,’ too. But we need a ship, and the Northern Barrens are still days away from here.”
“They’ll be dead before we can get there!” Alaria cried out.
“Not necessarily,” I said. “I got a new power when I trained at the temple.”
“What temple?” Krug asked, confused.
“Later. The important thing is I can get us to the Northern Barrens in the next few minutes – ”
“How?!” Krug asked, even more bewildered.
“New power – keep up. But I need your promise to help me convince the other pirates to fight alongside us when I summon them again.”
“Not in HERE!” Meera said loudly.
If she didn’t like having Stig in her apartment, I knew she wasn’t going to go for 50 demon pirates.
“I’ll summon them when we arrive in the north,” I reassured her.
“No, you need to bring back them back now,” Krug snapped.
I looked over at him like WHAT did you just say? “A ‘PLEASE’ would be nice.”
“…please,” Krug grumbled.
“NO!” Meera shouted.
I needed a good excuse that would satisfy both of them – and luckily, I had one.
“My portal only stays open ten seconds,” I said. “If I bring them back now, there’s no way they can all get through the portal. I should only resurrect them when there’s a fight.”
“…oh,” Krug mumbled.
“Can I count on your help when we get there?”
“Who are we going to fight?” he asked. “Tarka and the warlock?”
“Yeah.”
Krug grinned darkly. “Then I won’t have to convince them at all.”
“What if the warlock has already attacked the frost elves?” Alaria said.
Dammit… that was entirely possible.
Krug had been in the hold of the pirate ship for almost three days.
“Is two and a half days long enough to get from that archipelago to the Northern Barrens?” I asked.
Krug did a quick calculation in his head.
“…more than enough. Probably double the necessary time.”
“Oh no,” Alaria whispered in horror.
“Shit,” I muttered. “We’ve got to go now. Alaria, Meera – go get dressed.”
Alaria dashed into the other room –
But Meera stayed still. “If he’s already attacked the frost elves in the north, and the devastation was anything like the other two places you saw… wouldn’t it be wiser to marshal our defenses here and attack him when he arrives?”
She was right.
But I couldn’t not go.
Not if there was a chance Eluun or any of the others were still alive.
“We have to look for survivors,” I said. “We have to. But we’ll be back in…”
I checked the counter on my menu.
22:57:03 and dropping.
“…just under 23 hours.”
“Why so long?” Meera asked.
“That’s how long it’ll take for my spells to recover.”
Meera frowned. “I think I should stay here.”
“What?! Why?!”
“In case the warlock comes while you’re gone.”
I was pretty sure the rea
l reason had to do with being around 50 demon pirates – but I didn’t want to call her on it in front of Krug. And I didn’t want to have to order her to come along.
“He destroyed an entire city, Meera. There’s nothing you can do to stop him – not alone.”
“No offense,” Krug said to me, “but I don’t think there’s anything you can do to stop him, either.”
I scowled. “I’ve gotten a lot more powerful since the last time you saw me.”
Krug snorted. “Unless you can kill an entire ship’s crew singlehandedly, I don’t think you’ve gotten powerful enough.”
It irked me, but I knew he was right.
The devastation I’d seen in Abaddon and Fernburg – there was no way I was capable of anything even remotely approaching that scale.
My adversary was responsible for all of it…
And that scared the hell out of me.
“If I stay,” Meera said, “at least I can do reconnaissance and see what we’re up against. If I go with you, I’ll just be helping with… things.”
I was pretty sure she didn’t want to say Helping with the dead bodies you’ll find.
I appreciated that small kindness.
“And besides, with this,” Meera said, pointing to the Collar of Gorbolik, “the absolute worst that can happen is I’ll die and show up in the north with you.”
I didn’t like it, but she had a point.
I finally relented. “Alright, you stay and do recon.”
Alaria walked back in the room fully dressed.
Well, as fully dressed as Alaria ever got in a black leather bikini and thigh-high boots.
“What about Stig?” she asked.
I’d forgotten about him…
Dammit.
Speed was of the essence. Fifteen minutes to go get him might be the difference between life and death for the frost elves.
“There’s no time,” I said. “He can stay in the Underneath till we get back.”
“Good,” Meera muttered under her breath.
“What if the warlock comes here while we’re gone?” Alaria asked.
“Then I guess both he and Meera will be joining us in the Northern Barrens,” I said darkly. “Look, we’re wasting time. Krug, Alaria – get ready to follow me. Meera – be careful.”
“I will,” she promised.
“And take care of Stig if he comes back.”
She grimaced, but she agreed. “Fine.”
I hit the map menu button…
Zoomed in on the Northern Barrens until I found the main castle in the Kingdom of Frost…
Then hit the ring icon and selected Abaddon.
The number on the counter dropped from ‘1’ to ‘0.5.’
“Let’s go,” I said, and Alaria and Krug followed me through the portal.
10
Seeing the ruins of Abaddon caused Alaria to cry out in anguish.
Even Krug was visibly shaken, which was a new sight for me. He was normally as stoic as they come.
I wasted no time, though, and cast a new portal into the Northern Barrens.
Flurries of snow blew through the ring and immediately turned to droplets of water. An icy wind gusted through the portal, though it felt refreshing compared with the hot air of Astoroth.
Wouldn’t stay refreshing long, though.
Even though I knew we were coming to an arctic wasteland, I’d forgotten that this was going to be cold… and we hadn’t brought any jackets or supplies.
We would have to rely on Alaria’s fire powers until we found furs to keep us warm.
I stepped through the portal into the snow. Alaria and Krug followed, and the fiery ring collapsed behind us and disappeared.
I noticed that the counter on the ring icon was now ‘0.’
Whatever else happened, we were stuck here for the next 23 hours.
Dark clouds obscured the sun. Snow drifted down all around us, and a brutal cold bit through my clothes – but I barely noticed.
I was too heartbroken by the destruction all around me, which almost exactly mirrored Abaddon’s.
Especially the corpses.
They were strewn all over the streets – frost elves in leather armor, newly fallen snow already halfway covering them up.
“Oh no…” Alaria sobbed. She sank to her knees next to one of the women’s bodies and tenderly brushed snow from her face.
The city itself had been annihilated.
The once majestic palace was now just gigantic shards of ice jutting up from the ground.
The temple of the sex goddess Jaiya had been crushed and reduced to nothing.
All the other buildings and homes had been pulverized.
Again, the only thing that remained intact was a single wall of ice, about 30 feet high, with giant letters melted into it.
3
ONE IN NINE
NUMBER EIGHT
FORGED IN SHADOW
CAST IN HATE
This time, though, the riddle made a bit more sense.
‘One in nine’ was obviously a reference to Alaria’s ex-masters.
And ‘Number eight’ was which master he was.
Too bad we didn’t have a name yet – unless there was a clue in ‘forged in shadow’ and ‘cast in hate.’
“Oh, Ian,” Alaria said, tears running down her face.
“This is bad,” Krug muttered.
I looked around in despair. “We should still check for survivors.”
“Can we at least find some clothing first?” Krug asked as he shivered.
Alaria was a fire-based demon, and could regulate her body temperature with ease. Krug was able to summon giant orbs of granite and blast them like cannonballs – which wasn’t so good for keeping warm. Not to mention he was bare-chested.
“Alaria, can you provide some heat for us until we find something?” I asked.
“Yes, of course.”
Flames suddenly danced along her red skin, so hot that it was like standing next to a raging bonfire.
“Thank you,” Krug said solemnly as he held his hands out towards her.
“Get warm as you walk,” I told him. “We need to try to find our friend.”
“Alright,” he agreed. He had the good sense not to say the obvious: I doubt you’ll find her alive.
Alaria just nodded, and we set off through the ruins of the city.
“Hello?” I shouted.
“Eluun?” Alaria called out. “Anyone?”
No answer.
“We should go back to Exardus,” Krug said when it became apparent we wouldn’t find any survivors.
I shook my head. “We’re stuck here for 22 more hours, remember?”
“Then we need to find shelter for the night, or we’re going to freeze to death.”
“Alright, I – ”
“Alaria?!” a woman’s voice suddenly cried out behind us. “Ian?!”
Sixty feet away, a figure dressed in ankle-length furs was walking towards us out of the ruins. The person lowered the hood –
Revealing a familiar blue face, long white curls, and a silver headdress.
“ELUUN!” I shouted, my sorrow temporarily turned to joy.
Alaria cried out and ran through the snow towards the high priestess, extinguishing her flames as she went, and flung herself into Eluun’s outstretched arms. The frost elf held on for dear life, her expression one of overwhelming grief.
I ran over, too, and Eluun welcomed me into the hug.
When I finally let go, I asked, “Did anyone else…?”
She shook her head.
“I’m so sorry,” I murmured.
“Thank you.” Then she managed a tearful smile. “I saw the flames from afar and wondered who it could be, but I never expected – oh, it’s so good to see you both…”
“When did it happen?”
“Last night. A fleet of airships arrived in the darkness – ”
“A fleet?” Krug interrupted.
Eluun looked up at the demon pirate i
n alarm.
“You remember Krug,” I said gently. “He was the captain of the ship that came to rescue me and Alaria.”
“Oh, yes… yes, I remember now…”
“You said a fleet?” Krug repeated, clearly not believing her.
“Yes – over a dozen of them attacked the city with explosives, destroying it completely. I barely escaped.” She looked around, and her eyes brimmed with tears. “No one else did.”
Krug turned to me. “If they have that much firepower, we’re going to need more than one ship.”
I didn’t answer him. There was nothing we could do about it at the moment.
“Did you see who was commanding the ships?” I asked Eluun.
“No.”
“Did you happen to see who carved that?” I asked, pointing at the riddle.
“No. I only saw it afterwards, after the ships had left. Do you know what it means?”
“We think one of Alaria’s ex-masters has been targeting places we’ve been before,” I explained. “He destroyed two other towns and left a riddle at each.”
“So a warlock,” Eluun murmured.
“Yes.”
“I’m so sorry, Eluun…” Alaria sobbed. “I feel responsible…”
The frost elf frowned. “Why?”
“It was one of my ex-masters…”
Eluun smiled sadly and put her hand on Alaria’s cheek. “It’s not your fault what evil men do.”
“Damn it, we should have never left Meera alone,” I muttered.
Alaria suddenly looked very frightened.
“Who’s Meera?” Eluun asked.
“A friend of ours in Exardus.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t encounter the ships on your way if you flew here from there.”
“We didn’t come in a ship,” I said. “I have the ability to cast portals now.”
“I see,” Eluun said, then urged me, “You should get back to her.”
“We can’t. I can’t cast another portal for 22 hours.”
“So you’re stuck here for the night, then.”
“Yes.”
“Come – we must get you out of the cold,” Eluun said, and led us out of the demolished city.
11
Along the way, we retrieved fur coats from the wreckage of the temple – not from bodies, thank God, but from a spot Eluun had already dug out in her search for supplies.
She also loaded down Krug with wooden crates filled with food. He was way stronger than any of us, so he got to be the packhorse.
