by K Fisher
The gust settled and Bethinium stood amidst the afterglow of the attack. His walking stick was above his head, a shimmering ward enveloping his body and protecting him from the bulk of the attack. Nonetheless, the moment he dropped his hands and the ward released, a dusting of dirt fell upon his head. Blinking through the mess, Bethinium sneezed several times and brushed himself off. “Well that was most impressive! It’s too bad you stopped paying attention the moment you cast it!”
There was a chuff of anger from Silthia’s lips and Alni’s head whipped to the side, catching sight of what had befallen his friend.
While he was focusing on attacking Bethinium, the old man had summoned his own magic and compromised Silthia. The roots of trees were exposed from the deep ground, entangling and wrapping around Silthia’s legs and up her body. One large branch wrapped around her mouth, preventing her from using fire to escape. She did not look angry, only disappointed as she rose an eyebrow in Alni’s direction and chuffed once again. Slowly, the roots untangled themselves and returned to the earth, allowing Silthia to stretch her wings and be free once more. Looking to Alni, she spoke softly.
“Know that nothing evil in this world will play fair, we must keep an eye out for each other. Bethinium, teach us magic we can use together.”
Chapter Nineteen
Death’s Three Brothers
North of the High Mountains
The twin brothers were still amongst the trees, their heart beats slow patters in their chest as they gazed out at the herd of elk before them. They had only tracked them for an hour before catching up, finding the large creatures to be easy prey. Of course, everything was easy for them to hunt those days; Be it creature, human, or magical.
Narim slowly pulled his arm back and grasped onto the end of one of the arrows in his pack, moving it into position on his bow as he took aim in the elk’s direction. Not a single one of them ceased eating, not a single ear perked in anticipation of what was about to befall their group.
Siphor reached a hand out and poked a finger against his twin’s leg. Narim looked away from his line of fire in irritation, dark eyes looking to his brother with a questioning and impatient glare. Siphor pointed to the largest of the beasts, a massive elk that weighed no less than seven hundred pounds that lumbered around along the outskirts of the rest. Raising his finger to his forehead, Siphor placed his bet.
It wasn’t the first time the two had played games with their prey, betting the other could not make the perfect shot. This one, however, truly felt impossible. The elk was easily one hundred and fifty to two hundred meters away from the two of them and although the others were smaller, they were also much closer. Still, Narim would never turn down a bet from his brother, no matter the odds.
The two brothers were both tall and lean, nimble and youthful despite the horrors they had witnessed. They possessed no magic but through their years of training they had quickly learned such a thing could be overlooked and underestimated. Through learning the weaknesses of the other races, they had become deadly hunters and trackers for hire. Their hair was a midnight black against their tanned skin, clothing shades of neutral that blended into the undergrowth. They bore no scars, tattoos, or facial peculiarities that told the two apart, their only difference was in their hair. Narim’s was shaved close to his head, a shadow of hair along his skull. Siphor wore his long, wound back in many braids and twists until the strands came into a bun at the base of his neck. Narim preferred to hunt with his bow and arrows, Siphor had a soft spot for the two knives their older brother had gifted him many years prior.
His twin’s dark eyes gleamed in excitement as Narim’s narrowed and accepted the challenge given to him, taking aim at the largest of the elks. He was squinting as he took a deep breath in and releasing his hold on the arrow when his breath was released.
The arrow soared through the air towards the large creature, whistling as it appeared to reach its mark only to fall short a mere fifty meters from the elk. The entire pack sounded the alarm, a deep rumble among them turning into a shrieking that compared to screams. The bugles carried through the clearing as the giants raced away.
The largest was leading the way, running further and further from sight as the others followed along. The twins sighed, shaking their heads as their dinner ran off into the early sunset.
Just before the herd disappeared, another whistling hit the air. A long object soared past the heads of the twins and through the herd, hitting the largest of the elks square in the neck. The elk fell forward, tripping over itself as it landed upon the ground, unmoving with the spear imbedded within it. The other elks disappeared, leaving the bounty behind for the taking.
Their eldest brother, Zakir stood behind them with his hand in the air. After seeing the spear make its mark, he slowly lowered his hand to the side and looked down upon the crouching brothers. His grey eyes searched them for a moment before reaching into the pocket of his cloak and bringing out a shining, opal scale. Lifting it into the air before him, Zakir spoke to his little brothers quickly and quietly.
“While you were wasting your time, I found this. It is a scale from the dragon so it appears we are on track. Gather the elk and we will eat quickly before continuing on. At this rate, we will run into them within the day.”
Behind Zakir, their rides slowly approached. The three massive panthers were nearly the size of horses when their bodies were not lowered into a hunting crouch. Their black fur blended into the earth, the only thing giving away their positioning remained the yellow of their eyes and the large, unnatural fangs that protruded below their muzzles. Zakir extended a hand, resting it on the head of his pet as he stared down at the still-gaping brothers.
Siphor shoved his brother, standing quickly as he nodded to Zakir and raced off towards the kill, not wanting to be around to speak any further on the situation. It was never a good day when their older brother caught them unfocused and unsuccessful. Narim reached back and put his bow away, standing and dusting off the side of his trousers before turning to fully face his older brother.
“Good find,” he said, gesturing to the dragon scale in Zakir’s hand.
“This hunt will be over soon,” Zakir responded, lowering the scale toward the face of his panther.
It sniffed the item in its master’s hand for several seconds before turning its head to the left, a thunderous and feline growl escaping its lips as the creature caught the trail of Silthia and those who rode with her. There was no possible way the group would make it away from the three brothers, their reputations spoke wonders to those who had previously hired them and Anita was no different. She expected this to end in their death and was paying quite a hefty price for such things to be done. There was no possible way the three would pass up such an opportunity. After all, gold spoke.
“Too easy,” Zakir smiled.
Chapter Twenty
Alni’s hand reached across the table, pulling a roll of bread and a plate of butter toward him. Bethinium was carrying on with a story he had heard plenty of times during his time with the warlock, entertaining and captivating the dwarves at the table with every word that left his lips.
“The Mystic Dragon was the most beautiful, magical thing I had ever laid eyes on. It instructed me on the best way to get the young princess away safely…”
Food was replaced with hot plates of even more, a never-ending supply of warm meats and pastries made and prepared right there by the dwarves themselves. Each bite was spicier than the next, the small men and women obsessed with the spices so easily transported over the Yurel Oceans. It was unlike anything Alni had ever tasted in his life, the burning only urging more bites and sips of the wine before him.
“Oye! Warlock! Where is the Mystic Dragon now? We heard it was killed when the stone was destroyed,” a dwarf sitting next to Meek inquired.
“We have a new Mystic Dragon,” Bethinium said without pause, jerking his head over to Silthia behind the table.
Her tail was wrapped around Alni�
�s corner of the table, the end touching his chair as she kept herself close to the two of them. The dwarves had been kind enough to bring an entire cow for her to feast upon, one of the fattest from their farms along the bottom of the mountainside. Her maw rose, mixed eyes fixing on the table as Bethinium gestured to her. Every dwarf that had been invited to the dinner stared at her with wide eyes. When Alni and Silthia didn’t say a word to dissuade anyone from Bethinium’s proclamation, an awkward and excited silence stretched across them.
“Ah,” Meek started, glancing back at the three dwarves that worked to wind his long beard into a neat pile beside the table. “That seems to be a long story for another time. I insist that you return at some point so I can get a proper explanation as to what you have been up to all these many years.” Shaking his head, Meek admired Silthia for a moment before returning his cheerful gaze back to Bethinium. “I suppose I should keep up my end of the bargain and get you the key you desire. Although I know I have no right to ask why you need it and the agreement stated you could come back for it at any time, I question why it is you need it right now?”
Bethinium took a long drink from the goblet before him, looking to Alni as he placed it down on the table. Alni could not help but admire the warlock, finding himself growing fonder and fonder of the strong and witty man’s antics and lessons. It was the first time in such a long time that he felt the presence of his father near him. Somehow, some way, Bethinium was helping ease that aching part of Alni’s heart that missed his mentor. His parents.
Parents he truly had not known very well at all, had he?
“My son, Taber, looks to bring his mother back. I know that he will come here and try to obtain the key and since we search for him and hope to bring him back from such a decision, there is no better way than to hold the very thing he looks to possess.”
Meek’s lips pursed, brow furrowing above his brown eyes as he looked to the men and women sitting beside him at the table. “Your son cannot get inside the mountain, we keep constant guard. We will do anything to prevent a magical evil from returning to these lands. Those of us that remember when you came here asking for help know of the things Ravena did so long ago. Although I do not know what your son has planned with the key now that she’s dead, I’m sure I don’t want to know. If you say there is danger, I will believe you without question.”
“He has been here before and remembers how to enter, you know that. I just want to ensure there is no trouble that befalls any of you when he decides to do such a thing. This is something that I will deal with as best I know how. Besides,” He put a hand on Alni’s shoulder and gave it a few pats. “I have the Queen of the Dragons and Queen of Desin’s beau. We will be able to talk some reason into Taber, my heart tells me he is not beyond saving.”
“Very well, bring the key for Bethinium,” Meek said, clasping his meaty hands together on top of the table as the others continued to dig into the food before them.
Alni wasted no time continuing his assault on the food presented, knowing it would be quite some time before they had such a bounty again. Especially if they were going to deal with Taber sooner rather than later and begin the long journey back to the castle.
One of the dwarven guards walked up to Bethinium, a small chest held in his hands. There was a black lock on the chest, the outside a tarnished metal that almost blended in with the rocks that compiled the walls of the room they were in. Slowly and carefully, Bethinium accepted the chest and placed it on the table before him. When he withdrew his hands and placed them in his lap, Alni noticed the smallest of tremors.
“It has not been touched. My guards kept a close eye on it to ensure nothing would befall such a magical item. We may not like the idea of magic but there’s no denying it has helped us when other things could not,” Meek continued, finally turning back to his food as Alni and Bethinium stopped what they were doing and stared at the chest.
The moment it was placed on the table, the chest vibrated through the ground beneath Alni’s feet. A numbing tickle of power that felt so… Wrong. Looking over to Silthia, it was clear she had received the same impression from the artifact. Bethinium finally removed his hands from his lap, Meek continuing to drone on as the dwarf shoved food in his mouth. But it appeared that Silthia, Alni, and Bethinium were not registering the words the King said. Reaching forward, Bethinium closed his eyes and trailed his hand over the lock upon the chest. A white shimmer of magic encompassed the lock, disappearing within the keyhole.
The lock fell to the table, released from the chest it had kept safe. The dark feeling that had swarmed the three only intensified as Bethinium took a deep breath and opened his eyes, slowly lifting the top of the chest to expose what was inside.
Reaching within the chest, his face was relieved when he pulled out a long, black key. Cradling it in both hands before him, it was clear that whatever feeling they were getting from the chest wasn’t something to fear. The key was there and safe in the warlock’s powerful hands.
“I told you it was… AHH!” But Meek’s voice cut off with a shriek when the key disintegrated into dust a moment later in Bethinium’s hands.
He dropped the dust upon the table as though it burned him, pushing his chair back and rising to his feet, his arms flinging wide. Alni mirrored the motion, taking a step closer to Bethinium just in case he needed further assistance. But it appeared there was nothing to be done, the only remainder of the key a pile of black soot in the middle of a plate.
Suddenly, black smoke billowed out of the chest, crossing the table and pouring onto the stone ground. Dwarves yelled and ran from the table, trying to get as much distance as they could from the mysterious dark clouds that took over the room. The King’s guards ushered him to the door, swiping at the smoke with their spears frantically but there was nothing that could be done. Within a few moments, all light had been pulled from the room. Before anyone had a chance to light a lantern or call upon magic to illuminate the situation they faced, a small, white orb began glowing in the middle of the room above the table.
It pulsed and breathed, each breath expanding the orb - each exhale pushing power out into the air, producing enough light to shine on the faces of those across the stone room. A voice boomed through the air, one that Silthia, Alni, and Bethinium knew instantly. The voice they had been following across Desin.
“I knew you would not ignore my warning, but you are too late. It was far too easy to get what I needed and now you are behind. Turn around and leave me be and I promise you will keep your life, try to stop me and I cannot ensure I won’t end you to achieve my quest. Stop. Following. ME!” Taber’s last word was said in a yell of anger.
The orb exploded above their heads and small flurries of lit embers fell upon them, burning wherever they touched. Silthia growled, rearing back until her horns scratched the top of the stone room they resided in as she tried to escape the small bits of fire. Soon enough, though - they were stomped out on the ground and smothered where they landed, no one seriously injured by the display of magic.
Anything that remained was extinguished by Alni and Bethinium’s magic, not wasting any time in getting rid of the substance. Besides, if Taber had already obtained the key without anyone knowing, there was no telling what more he could have set up or what the magic in the flames could possess. For the entire day they had believed they were ahead of Taber and Eve but truly they were just wasting time while the two of them made their way to the grave site.
Meek and the others stared with wide eyes at Bethinium and Alni, words escaping them as they tried to make sense of what it all meant and the young warlock that had outsmarted the dwarves and stolen back the key. Before they had a chance to question things further, Bethinium turned to Meek with a desperate face, mouth opening to say something but the dwarf King beat him to it.
“No need to explain. Go now, all of you. There’s no time to waste.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Edge of the Yurel Oceans
Taber follo
wed along after Eve, the two of them weaving through large oak trees and dodging limbs on their way to the oceans. Pausing, he felt a deep ache in his chest that he had felt a great many times before. Turning to look back at the High Mountains behind them in the distance, Taber knew his father was on the way and he would soon discover the messages he had left behind.
They had limited time to get to his mother’s burial site, especially with a dragon at Bethinium’s call and the ability to easily fly to the location. The winds were high and the night was getting darker and darker, a dangerous time to sail across the waves to arrive at the islands. The map in his pocket may have been able to direct them to the proper location but it did not let them know how easy the journey would be.
Turning back to the trail, Taber’s eyes fell on the small girl that led the way. She had insisted her father owned a large boat that would easily be able to take them across the high waters to where they desired, but she had made it clear that such a thing must be done covertly. So there they were, slowly approaching the dark shadow of her home by the water’s edge in hopes of stealing a boat from her family.
Had it not been for the ghostly wolf that followed along, Taber would not have taken Eve’s word for anything. She was just a little girl that he needed to protect and take away from her life, a little girl that would help him obtain his mother once again. Besides, having a boat was the answer to the next set of questions that accompanied the quest and Eve was proving to be more than helpful. The wolf only illuminated just how powerful she was and how serious the situation had to be taken.
Although Eve was just a little girl, she was more powerful than he could ever be and even in her inexperience Taber did not want to find out what else she could do.
