by Dan Zangari
Master Amendal claimed gangolins were the strongest creatures in the world, rivaling the strength of dragons. Gangolins were strong, but stupid. However, under the influence of an intelligent conjurer they were powerful tools of destruction.
Dith remembered hearing stories of how Master Amendal had escaped the perils of the Abodine Wasteland only because he knew how to conjure gangolins. The gangolins were the only conjuration that withstood the might of the dragon he faced.
Many people didn’t believe Master Amendal’s tale. Most thought he was mad. Master Amendal was a little crazy, but Dith didn’t think him to be delusional.
Dith ran a hand through his sweaty dark-brown hair, glancing back to the east. Twilight had settled on the forest.
I need to find a place to camp. Stretching out his hand, Dith uttered an incantation, mustering golden conjuration magic. The golden light wisped from his hand, swirling in front of him in an oval shape about the size of his torso. The magic formed a portal to the Aldinal Plane—a nether-space that existed outside the physical realm of Kalda where magic and matter existed in their rawest forms.
Dith focused on the image of a hawk as he uttered the incantation. Soon, the bird flew from the mystical vortex and zipped through the leafy canopy, completely under Dith’s control. The hawk’s senses mingled with Dith’s, and he felt everything the bird was experiencing. When conjured creatures passed through a conjuration portal, the portal bonded the creature to the mage who summoned it. He closed his eyes, focusing on the hawk’s vision. As he guided the bird’s flight, he noticed a darkened spot in the ground.
Stay, he commanded the bird through their telepathic link. Dith could feel the bird’s location across the forest and quickly made his way through the trees. It wasn’t long before he reached his conjuration, perched on a tree limb near the opening of a small cave. The hawk swooped from the tree branch and into the cave, scouting its interior for him. From what Dith could tell, nothing had occupied the space for a long time.
Pleased, Dith crouched and crawled into the cave. It wasn’t that big, but it was enough for him to lie down and stretch out. Dith uttered another incantation, and a portal formed, guiding the hawk into it. The bird disappeared, returning to the Aldinal Plane.
Hunger struck Dith, and he pulled some wild fruit from his pack. A few berries and a furnapel—an orange fruit with a furry skin and crunchy flesh. Dith had stumbled across a few furnapel trees two days ago and harvested as much as he could carry. It was all that he had to eat.
After eating the fruit, Dith settled in for the night.
* * * * *
Vibrations in the ground awoke Dith. He sat up, hitting his head on the cave’s roof. “Ouch,” he griped, leaning back down and rubbing his head. The ground shook again.
An earthquake? The Kingdom of Los wasn’t known for having many earthquakes, if any.
A faint pounding noise accompanied another vibration. More followed, then another, and another. The sound and the shaking was rhythmic, like giant footfalls—
“Could it be?!” Dith gasped and scurried out of the cave. The pounding grew louder, followed by a crash, like a tree being felled. A gangolin! He grinned with excitement. Dith hurried back into the cave and grabbed his pack. Once it was secure, he dashed into the woods. Fatigue was replaced by excited anticipation.
The noises grew louder, and Dith saw the outline of a towering creature, walking on all four of its thick muscular limbs. Master Amendal had said that gangolins resembled dragons, although wingless and with shorter necks and tails. They were also about the same size. This gangolin stood taller than a building and was a dull beige color. Though Dith couldn’t see the detail, he knew the creature was covered in thick beige scales, with off-white hair protruding from the scales. A dark streak lined the creature’s back, running from its stubby tail to its head; the streak was undoubtedly its maroon mane. The thick mane made it look anything but serpentine.
Dith could barely see the outline of the gangolin’s wide snout. In comparison to the depictions of dragons, gangolins had a shorter muzzle—or so Master Amendal said. The old conjurer claimed their snouts were half the length of a dragon’s while also being twice as wide. Dith always imagined the gangolin’s snout was like the wider end of an egg, and after seeing the creature he knew that assumption was accurate.
Moonlight glistened off two white horns protruding on either side of the gangolin’s mane. The horns arced backward in a circle, curving behind the creature’s head and curling back to its lower jaw. Tiny tines, arrayed in a random pattern, lined the horns, also glistening moonlight. Massive paws with gleaming white talons protruded dug into the forest floor with every footstep.
Yes! he cheered inwardly. The gangolin plodded toward him, knocking over trees as it tromped through the forest.
Sucking in a deep breath, Dith splayed his hands wide and uttered an incantation. Golden particles formed in his hands, then wisped in front of him, forming a portal to the Visirm Expanse. Unlike the Aldinal Plane, the Visirm Expanse was a timeless void. Conjurers placed creatures and objects inside the expanse to summon at a later time. Portals to the Visirm Expanse utilized an enthralling component, so summoned creatures wouldn’t run amok. Dith continued with the incantation and the portal grew, becoming over six times his height. Dith was no small man; he stood a little taller than average height. But still, the portal wasn’t large enough for the gangolin. It would have to grow two or three times larger. If not, it would crush the creature leaving it deformed or even worse. Dead.
The gangolin stopped, turning toward the formed magic. The beast sniffed the air so loudly that the noise echoed across the forest.
Soon, charcoal magic—the enthralling component used to force the gangolin through the portal—appeared, mingling with the golden vortex. The gangolin lowered its head and cautiously stepped forward. It had probably never encountered magic and was undoubtedly curious about the manifestation.
Dith’s portal continued growing, and after a moment he felt it reach its apex. It’s ready! he cheered. He was going to do it. Now he would be a full-fledged conjurer in his master’s eyes, though Dith had already been awarded the title by the council of the Necrotic Order.
The gangolin edged closer, ever leery.
Come here, Dith thought, then shot the enthralling magic from the portal. The gangolin stopped abruptly, cocking its head and sniffing. The creature began to turn, glancing to its right. At that moment, Dith’s magic wisped inside the gangolin. Their minds merged and the gangolin abruptly stilled.
Dith laughed triumphantly. Through his mental bond with the creature, Dith guided the gangolin toward the portal. “Yes—”
Something heavy knocked Dith sideways, forcing him to the ground. Whatever it was pinned him there. What was it—?
Before he could look something sharp scraped across his arm. “Ahh!” Dith screamed.
A claw?
Dith couldn’t hear anything over the gangolin’s loud footsteps.
Suddenly, his pack was ripped off his shoulders, followed by more scratching along his back.
Dith struggled to break free, attempting to roll over. He glimpsed his assailant’s darkened figure, none other than a feline native to the forest, a yidoth. Yidoths were feral creatures that roamed the southern parts of Melar. He wasn’t that far south, was he? The yidoth’s dark green fur allowed it to blend into the forest. This one had brown spots, unlike most, which had stripes.
Yelling, Dith punched the yidoth, knocking it away.
The gangolin began to resist Dith’s control; its gait slowed. Damn it, Dith cursed inwardly. He spun to his feet, and his portal flickered. The yidoth must have distracted him long enough to cause him to lose control of the portal. It wouldn’t be stable enough to capture the gangolin.
The yidoth recovered and circled around him. They only did that when—
Something else knocked Dith to the ground. He rolled away, seeing a second yidoth.
This isn’t going to w
ork, he thought, slowly rising from the ground. The portal intended for the gangolin flickered again.
Dith couldn’t fend off the yidoths and capture the gangolin. A portal the size of the one he had mustered required too much concentration. Angered, Dith whispered an incantation, mustering more golden magic. It formed a large portal to the Aldinal Plane, three times his height. The yidoths turned toward the light, careful to not make a sound. They were stealthy hunters. Master Amendal liked telling stories of yidoths pouncing on people who strolled through the woods.
Blue fingers emerged from the portal, followed by hands and arms made of ice. Soon, a towering creature stepped from the portal—an elemental giant from the Aldinal Plane.
Kill them, Dith commanded his conjuration, spinning toward the magic meant for the gangolin. The portal had almost faded. Dith would need to recast the spell.
A scuffle echoed behind him as the icy elemental attacked the yidoths. Dith didn’t pay much attention to the fight, letting the conjuration attack on its own. Dith’s hold on the gangolin was like a fraying thread as he felt his control slipping away. The gangolin stopped its approach, digging its claws into the ground. A scowl slowly formed upon that enormous snout. The very gaze struck Dith with fear, the likes of which he had never felt.
A dying yelp filled the air, and the gangolin looked as if it were trying to sniff.
Cast the spell, damn it! Dith chided himself and then uttered the incantation. Golden light formed in his hands once again.
Another yelp resounded behind him, and he could sense that both yidoths were beaten.
Stay beside me, Dith commanded his conjuration while still opening the other portal to the Visirm Expanse. The portal formed, but was only twice Dith’s size. Why hadn’t it been bigger? It was too small.
In that instant, the first portal vanished and the bond with the gangolin was severed.
No!
Now freed, the gangolin reared on its hind legs. It towered over the forest, rising what seemed to be over a dozen stories tall. How big was this thing? The gangolin splayed its forward limbs, bellowing a resounding honking-shrill that washed over the forest like a rippling tide. Dith started and fell backward. He had to finish the spell. He resumed the incantation in a hurry but was struck with unimaginable horror as the gangolin leapt toward him.
No!
The beast soared over the forming magic and landed between Dith and the portal, thrusting its white talons into the forest floor. The ground shook as the beast uprooted trees and made a tidal wave of dirt.
Attack it! Dith commanded as earthen debris sprayed across his face.
His conjuration obeyed, charging across the upheaved ground. The gangolin retaliated, swatting at the icy elemental, but it screamed in pain as the blow connected; gangolins, for all their might, were weak against the cold.
Dith’s conjuration flew into a nearby tree, toppling it. Both the tree and the conjuration skidded across the forest floor.
Run! he told himself. Hide! Scrambling to his feet, Dith dashed back through the forest, running as fast as he could. His heart felt like it was going to jump out of his chest.
The gangolin yelled that horrifying honking-shrill, and the ground shook again. Dith stumbled forward. In addition to his own vision, he could see the gangolin attacking his conjuration from the icy elemental’s point of view. The sight was horrifying! He kept running and saw the cave where he had been sleeping. Dith dashed toward it, hoping that it might provide some shelter. He slid inside and turned on his stomach, gazing out the cave’s mouth.
As Dith watched, the gangolin grabbed his conjuration with both claws, screaming in pain. Why would it—
The gangolin lifted the conjuration into the air, ripping the icy elemental in half. His bond was severed, vanquished upon the conjuration’s death.
By Heleron’s Glistening Trident… Dith gasped.
Pieces of the icy elemental went flying, and the gangolin settled back on all fours. It sniffed the air intently, stumbled to what Dith assumed to be the yidoth corpses and gobbled them whole.
“I can’t capture that thing…” he groaned shakily. What was Master Amendal thinking? It was suicide facing something like that.
The gangolin sniffed the ground for a little while longer, then tromped off, its thunderous footfalls echoing toward the east.
“I have to get out of here…” Dith muttered. He had to get out of this forest, even if he had to run all the way to the western border. Once he thought the gangolin was far enough away, Dith crawled out of the cave. He hurried to the spot where he had encountered the colossal beast and searched for his pack. But to his disappointment, the yidoths had rendered it useless. The fruit that he had gathered was crushed.
Dith salvaged what he could and made his way westward.
* * * * *
Dith emerged from the edge of Melar Forest a month later, haggard and starved. He hadn’t run into any more of those frightful creatures, or anything else that proved too dangerous for him to handle. Fruit was scarce on the western side of the forest, and Dith resorted to eating bugs and tree leaves.
Exhausted, Dith stumbled through a field, unsure of where he was. He could be anywhere between Alath and Klath.
I should go south, he thought. Dith wandered until at sunset he came across a fence. The grass beyond the fence looked like a pasture, and Dith thought he could smell the scent of cows and pigs. A farm? He followed the fence westward, toward a barn with a small home beside it.
The sight of civilization—though rural as it was—gave him relief. His ordeals in that treacherous forest were over.
I’m never going back there again, Dith vowed and climbed over the fence. He got over the top but lost his grip, falling into the pasture. A pop sounded beneath him and his ankle flared with pain. Struggling with clenched teeth, Dith forced himself to stand. He put weight on the hurt ankle, but collapsed. I hope it’s not broken, he thought and crawled through the pasture.
Dith was more than halfway to the home when a man emerged from the barn. The farmer turned and noticed Dith crawling through the grass. The man started but soon regained his composure and ran toward Dith.
“Are you all right?” the farmer yelled as he ran.
“No…” A surge of pain shot through Dith’s ankle, and he stopped crawling for a moment. By the time he started moving again, the farmer was upon him.
“What happened to you?” the farmer asked. “You look ragged.”
Dith looked at himself. He was in shambles. His sleeves had been torn from the yidoths. Those holes were accompanied by another gash across the back of his tunic.
“Polnia!” the farmer shouted. “We have a hurt man out here!”
Not long after the cry, a woman emerged from the house, followed by two children: a girl and a boy, each no older than five years.
“My goodness!” The woman—Polnia—shuddered and knelt beside Dith.
“Bandits I’ll wager,” the farmer said with a sigh. “I’ve heard of attacks recently while going to market.”
Bandits, huh? Dith wanted to smile, but the pain didn’t let him. He’d best let them assume so, as he didn’t know how they’d react to hearing the truth. What he had done was a severely punishable crime. Men were imprisoned for venturing into Melar Forest. Master Amendal told him that one man—who repeated the offense several times—was sentenced to the Prison Castle of Ahzeald for the rest of his life. The man was searching for a hidden city of wonder buried in the forest, trying to prove some legend that was quite obviously fictional. The poor man’s obsession had driven him mad and destroyed his life.
“You kids go back into the house,” the farmer said, waving the children off. They were reluctant but eventually obeyed.
“Where are you hurt?” Polnia asked.
“My ankle,” Dith said. “I can’t stand on it.”
“Let’s get him inside,” the farmer said. Then he and Polnia slung Dith under their shoulders and guided him to their home.
&nbs
p; “Where am I?” Dith asked.
“Haldor’s farm,” the farmer answered, “where the best milk is made in all of Southern Los.” Polnia chuckled.
“I don’t know where that is…” Dith said.
“They must have really beaten you hard,” the farmer said. “You’re just north of Klimith.”
Klimith? Wasn’t that north of Klath?
“Do you know where Kinedahl is?” Dith asked.
“Oh, sure!” the farmer exclaimed. “It’s about a day’s ride south of here. Are you from there?”
Dith shook his head. “I need to meet my master there—” A surge of pain shot up his leg.
“Surely he can wait,” Polnia said. “You’re in no shape to travel.”
That struck Dith as funny.
They entered the home and sat Dith on a small couch within a tiny sitting room, propping his injured leg on a few pillows. The children watched from around a nearby corner. Dith forced a smile, and the little girl waved timidly.
“You’re probably hungry,” Polnia said. “Children, go fetch Mister”—she turned to Dith—“What is your name?”
“Dith.”
She nodded. “Fetch Mister Dith something to eat and drink.”
The children scurried away, rummaging through a nearby room, probably the kitchen.
“What else is hurt, Mister Dith?” the farmer asked.
“Just the ankle,” Dith said. “Everything else has healed. I look worse than I am.”
The farmer frowned and then hurried out of the sitting room. Polnia, however, stayed with him.
“You don’t look well,” Polnia said, gently stroking his hair. It was overgrown and hung past his ears. Dith hated that. “You can stay here until you’re ready to travel.”
That surprised Dith. “You’d take a stranger into your home?”
“Of course,” Polnia nodded. “One should always treat others kindly.”
“But you don’t know me,” Dith said, squinted. “What if I harm you or your family? Would you dare chance that?”
