into the hole, stabbing a bat in midair on his way in.
From inside the hole, the group sees hundreds of giant bats fly by, temporarily blocking the view of the moon that particular hole seemed to provide. Zero shoots a spell at the top of the whole, as to prevent any of joining them. The bat that Gildar stabbed on the way in takes flight again, flapping, and shrieking as it crookedly circles the tight area. The muscle-bound beast-like Gildar eyes it, and reaches back. He punches toward it, just-missing. He groans and reaches
back again, when suddenly, “THWACK!” Finneus had struck it in the head with his bow. It falls to the ground and Gildar pulls his dagger out of it and stabs it one more time. “Just to be sure,” he says as he exhales.
Only being a few meters wide, the hole provides little room to move around. Gildar goes to moves his bride into a better position, as the one provided by the fall was quite unflattering. “THUD.” The wife’s knee had activated a switch that lie underneath a layer of leaves, and activated a door to the right, behind Zero. The door, which the eye wouldn’t recognize as a door, had opened. It opened to reveal a dank, long hallway, just large enough for Gildar to have to hunch over to walk through.
“It could be a trap,” says Zero, unsure if they should pursue it.
“We’re no strangers to traps,” remarks Finneus. He steps over confidently, and then leans in and takes a look at the foggy path.
Gildar quickly replies, “It’s either this or the bats,” as he picks up his backpack and wife. He decides that he can’t carry both at the same time, and hunch down. He trades Finneus his lady for his bow, and quiver.
They walk through the mysterious passage. Gildar is in the lead, ready for action. Finneus is in the middle, trying to find a better position to carry the corpse. Zero nervously had the rear. They walk and walk, for what seems like forever. The walls feel endless. The decrepit stench was making them feel uneasy. “How long is this hallway, what is it for,” they thought.
Finally, they come to a dead end. They look to the left and see the same type of moss covered door as the one that opened on the hole. Finneus hands off the corpse to Gildar, and stomps around on the ground, trying to feel for a switch. He hits one on his fourth try. The door opens. Another endless hallway appears. This time he takes the lead, only carrying his bow, quiver, and the backpack. Zero still in the rear.
This passage looked quite similar to the first one, but with remains of creatures who weren’t so lucky appearing every once in a while. They’ve come to another dead end. They look to the left and right, same as the first one. Finneus, facing the door to the left, activates the switch. Two arrows shoot out the door behind him. One arrow on either side of him barely misses his slender frame, and sail firmly down the hallway.
This hall is just the same as the first two. Same size, same smell, same dead end. This time he knew better when he activated the switch, this time he stood back and used his bow to hit it. Same two arrows shot out of wall to the right.
The fourth hallway was the same as the first three, but the smell was worse. It looks like there were even more not-so-lucky creatures. The trio, hoping to not become like them, make their way to the end. This time they found no switch on the ground. Further investigation revealed it was in the ceiling, but with the same arrow trap. This time, the door opened to a hallway to the left, and the hole they came in thru to the right.
“Well this was worthless,” says Gildar, as he crawls through the hole. They take a break and wait until the sun comes up to before venturing any further.
-
Even during the day, the Forgotten Woods seemed dark. The tree tops seem to form a gloomy shield of sorts. It had a way of torturing you, with its endless darkness, making you question if you could truly handle the misery that it entails. The unjust sorrow of fallen spirit echoes within it. Eventually, they come to a statue. Old and decrepit, it looks as if it was created ions ago. Covered in moss, the tip extends high above the treetops.
“Ok. We’re in the right place, I’ve been here before.” Zero brushes off the plaque on the bottom of it. “This must be the compass.”
“What compass?” Gildar inspects what looks to be a statue of a god.
“This means we are in the middle. We need to go East. See how his arm points to the east and his opposite foot points to the West.”
“Why East?”
“Necromancers usually dwell in the East woods. It is the only place in the land where they can find the quartz they need to make the amulets that they need to harness the power to perform that level of magic.”
“But you don’t need an amulet to do magic, do you?” States Gildar, as he steps away from the statue.
“No, my magic is natural. Amulets can only amplify the magic you can naturally have.”
Only meters away from the statue, something starts to feel a little odd, more odd than usual.
“There’s magic nearby, I can feel it,” whispers Zero.
Gildar hands off his only to Finneus, and stands ready. A whirl-wind of dirt and what seem like souls approaches the gang. Agonizing faces appear for only a split second before continuing in
their rotation. It flails wildly, an out of control storm of the unknown. It stops twenty yards out, and the earth opens. A glowing skeleton rises out of it as the whirlwind dissipates, sword and shield in hand.
It runs full speed at the trio. Finneus drops the maiden and scatters to knock an arrow. Gildar pulls out his long sword and growls as he runs at it. Zero proclaims, “This is why I enchanted your weapons.” Gildar jumps and spins, swinging his mighty long sword, and hitting it in the ribs. The skeleton swings his sword, missing Gildar as he instinctively ducks underneath it. Finneus releases an arrow that bounces off its shield. Another one sets sail, sticking into its skull. Enraged, Gildar groans and swings again, severing the skeletons head. The bones fall to the ground and disappear.
They feel relieved and joyous to have defeated such a foe with such ease. They continue east and Zero begins to announce that there is sure to be a necromancer afoot, and is cutoff by the sound of another whirlwind. This time it slows down, the ground opens, and a dozen glowing skeletons rise, ready to battle. Zero instantly starts conjuring up a spell, as Gildar pulls out his long sword yet again. He runs into the group as he swings and dodges their incoming attacks. He smashes one with his shield in one hit to the left, and dodges an incoming blade to the right. An enemy blade connects with him, leaving a large cut on his side. Zero shoots his spell at the crowd. A thick stream of ice pulsates out of the wizards hands. The group is frozen, including Gildar, from the ground up to their necks. Zero runs to Gildar and zaps him with magic. The ice melts and he is free. Finneus and his brother spread out through the group, making sure to behead each one of them. As the skulls fall to the ground, the skeletons disappear, leaving empty blocks of ice in the wake of the battle.
Anticipating more skeletons, they are on for a different surprise. A mysterious figure rises out of the hole ahead. Emitting smoke, it floats high above the ground. They only thing they can make out for sure is an amulet shining, hanging around the cloaked figures neck.
“You dare enter these woods? What do you seek?” The figure’s eyes glow white.
“We are the Dark Brigade of the North, and we seek a necromancer.” The group stands proudly.
Lightning cracks, “I am the necromancer known as Malzahar. Why do you seek a necromancer?” He floats down to the ground in front of him. Still, they can’t make out any of his features as his long black cloak covers him almost completely.
Gildar lays his beloved in front of him. “Filthy humans killed my love, and we present her to you now, asking you to return life her?”
“Why would I do that?” Malzahar asks. “Why should I not take her soul, as well as yours, to add to my rather large collection?”
“We are very wealthy,” replies Finneus. He opens the backpack, showing him the gold they have in tow. “We have more, back in Torythe.”
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“Torythe aye,” he chuckles.
-
Malzahar agrees to reanimate the corpse of Gildar’s wife. He starts chanting in a language similar to Zero’s. He slowly floats into the air. The sky flashes, blindingly bright as lightning cracks. A green aura of souls spins in a cloud over his head. The amulet around his neck glows brighter as he chants louder. The decayed wife lifts off the ground; her arms open wide, wind flowing through her hair.
The brothers are filled with excitement. Zero feels proud to have been able to deliver on his word. Their adventure seemed to be coming to an end. They have made it further than they thought possible, and finally it was about to payoff.
Malzahar has built up enough power, he casts it at her. “WHOOSH.” Magic envelopes her, she shimmers from bottom to top and slowly twirls in the air as she is filled with life. Her skin returns back to its original state. She glistens as she floats down toward the ground. Gildar holds out his arms, as to embrace the love that he had put it all on the line for. She lands in his arms and he hugs her. He whispers, “I love you my darling,” as he squeezes her tighter than ever before.
She looks at him with her light green eyes. The same light green eyes that she had always had. She squeezes him again. Malzahar lands behind her, and looks somewhat winded from casting such a powerful spell. He snaps his fingers as the
Dark Brigade: Dorwin's Gold Page 2
