A Land in Shadow

by Daniel Whitman

  “Aye now, ye bloody dolt, what in the bloody hell are ye doin'?” Nalgene growled at the orc. He grumbled something else under his breath, but Ro could not catch the words. Shaking his head, Nalgene cleared his throat. “We've talked about this. The rats be plenty fine on their own without ye drowning them in soup.”

  Fasto looked up at the gruff gnome, his eyes wide with injury, and splashes of soup running down his face. “But they my friends. And Fasto help his friends,” he whined, before continuing to shove the traumatized rat into his empty soup bowl.

  “Ah, but it seems you've lost all your soup,” SmibSmob said, disappointed. He shook his head and sat down on the hard ground. “Not that it was much of a loss.”

  “And how in the bloody hell did ye even catch that durned thing?” Nalgene grumbled. “Ye might as well be a brick, for all the talent ye got.”

  “But,” Fasto whimpered, not quite able to understand the insult, “they my friends.”

  “Alright, leave the orc alone,” Ro said, a hint of amusement clear in his voice. “Let the poor rat go, Fasto, and drink up whatever is left of your soup.”

  “Oh no, don’t you dare let that rat go,” Andromeda said, her soft voice flowing out from her cage like a siren’s song. A murderous gleam shot across her eyes, and she licked her lips in hunger. “I’d much rather you toss it over to me so I can enjoy a decent meal.”

  Fasto let out a terrified shriek and fell back against his cage, unknowingly releasing the rat in his lapse of terror. “No! Fasto must protect Harry. Fasto must protect friend!”

  “Bwahahahahaha!” Nalgene bawled. “Ye named the durned thing, now did ye? What in the bloody hell is wrong with ye, ye dolt? It’s a bloody rat, not some —” Nalgene was interrupted by a thunderous explosion from outside, sending dust and debris cascading from the crumbling ceiling. Stumbling back in his cage, he let out a cry of alarm: “Agh, what in the bloody hell is goin' on?”

  The companions stood in a stunned silence, anxiously listening for the source of the blast. Nothing. Ro glanced around at the others, and an urge to protect them rushed through his body.

  What was that?

  He had no answer.

  Another explosion rocked the building, sending the companions scrambling back in alarm. Shouts could be heard from outside, and the clash of weapons echoed through the stone walls. Suddenly, the guard burst through the door, blood dripping down the side of his face. His breath came in short gasps, and he let out strained grunts of pain. An arrow shaft protruded from his thigh, causing him to limp. Fumbling around in his pocket, he pulled out a large iron key. Stumbling towards Ro’s cage, he rattled the key in the lock, his hands unsteady.

  “Listen, I don’t know what you did or why you are all trapped in here,” he gasped, “but on my good will, and as a proud member of the Flame, I can’t let any living perish to the Shadow. No matter how devious, or how vile a man is, I believe there is always a chance for redemption.”

  The lock clicked and the heavy iron door swung slowly outwards. The iron key fell out of his trembling, injured hands, but he seemed not to notice.

  “This is your chance for that redemption. Free the others,” he implored. “Join the Flame. We need your help out there. I know you don’t see why you should help us, but as one of the living, please — just please — help us defeat this endless Shadow.”

  Giving one last nod to Ro, the guard turned away. A gleam of fire lit in the man’s eyes, and a smiled curled on his lips. Raising his bloodied longsword in a final salute, he charged out the door, shouting, “For Ansalon! For the Flame burning bright! The Beacon shall come and bring back the Light!” The door closed behind him, leaving them alone in the dim prison.

  Ro stood stunned and unsure what to make of the guard's valiant speech.

  As one of the living? Fight back against the Shadow? I’ve only heard of the Shadow in children’s stories. And the Flame? The Beacon? I don’t understand, what could it all mean?

  “Aye, ye durned dragon, quit yer gawkin’ and get us out o’ these bloody cages,” Nalgene said, impatience seeping into his voice. “We ain’t got all day, and I’d rather not be here for the next explosion, or this durned Shadow thing.”

  Snapping out of his thoughts, Ro looked down at the large key laying on the dusty floor. Reaching down, he picked it up in his clawed hands, and turned it in front of his eyes. Glancing back down, he studied the magical shackles binding his ankles.

  Perhaps …

  Reaching down, he fit the key into one of the locks on the shackles. Giving it a twist, the shackle popped open with a sharp click. Relieved, he hastily freed himself from the other. As the shackles fell to the floor, a surge of power rushed through him, overwhelming him after years of suppression. Energy crackled through him, filling every scale with exhilarating vitality. A mighty roar escaped his lips, and a bolt of lightning shot out of his mouth, crashing into the ceiling with a brilliant shower of sparks.

  At last, after these two long years, I’m finally free! I feel so… alive, so —

  His thoughts were interrupted by the shouting of his companions.

  “Aye, ye durned dragon, ye be tryin' to bring the bloody ceiling down on our heads?” Nalgene cried in alarm, frantically trying to protect his head. “Just unlock these bloody cages, ye beardless dwarf, ye don’t be needin’ to kill us all in the process!”

  Margaret chuckled softly to herself. “For once I actually agree with the annoying little gnome.”

  “Indeed,” SmibSmob said, anxiously rubbing his hands together. His gaze seemed distant, however, as if his mind were lost elsewhere. “So, the key? I don’t mean to be the obvious one, but I’d rather not be in this dreary place when whatever it is outside finds its way in.”

  “That’s what I be sayin'!” Nalgene grunted, not noticing SmibSmob’s hesitation. “Ye and yer fine noggin, me brother.”

  Shaking his head, Ro strode over to the cage that held Andromeda, and slid the key into the lock.

  “Alright, let’s get you out of here,” he said.

  The lock clicked, and the cage door swung steadily outward. Reaching down, he fit the key into her shackles. With a twist, the shackles fell to the floor, freeing her from their silencing imprisonment. Andromeda’s eyes gleamed with joy, and for a moment she seemed to fade into the darkness, vanishing even from Ro’s watchful gaze.

  “Mmmm, much appreciated,” she purred as she exited the cage, brushing him with her tail as she passed. “Let’s free the others, shall we?”

  Shaking his head, Ro released the others from their cages and shackles. He freed SmibSmob next, who graciously thanked him with an exaggerated bow and a distant, “thanks.” As the gnome passed by, Ro felt a sense of unease, and something darker, viler, emanating from the gnome. Shrugging, he brushed it aside. He was probably imagining things.

  After SmibSmob, Ro released Fasto, who had completely forgotten about the rat. As the shackles fell, Fasto thanked Ro by giving him an awkward embrace and a much-too-wordy speech about how, “Fasto grateful” and, “Fasto must repay friend.”

  After managing to detach Fasto from himself, Ro then freed Margaret, who smiled and gave him a playful wink. As she passed, an icy chill washed over Ro, and an unearthly chill pierced into his flesh. Frost radiated from her demonic arm, as if some mysterious power had just been unleashed from within.

  Finally, Ro released Nalgene. He was met by an infuriated gnome stamping his feet and shouting, “Is that how it is, ye durned dragon! Ye be freein' me last, eh?”

  Chuckling, Ro unlocked the shackles.

  As soon as Nalgene’s shackles fell loose, the gnome called back his long-suppressed powers and conjured up a magical ball of water and lobbed it in Ro’s face. A surge of frigid water crashed into Ro, pummeling the breath from his shocked body. Suddenly, he knew all too well what Nalgene had meant by “watering the food.” Grumbling to himself, Nalgene trudged past Ro, leaving him stunned in the entrance of the cell.

  Regaining his compo
sure, Ro shook the water from his scales and fixed his gaze on Nalgene. The thoughts of his companions awakened powers rushed through his mind.

  Who are they?

  Some long-abandoned memory itched at the back of his mind, as if he knew about their powers from long ago. But it shied away whenever he reached for it.

  “Alright,” Ro said, irritated. “Now that we’re all free from our bonds, let’s get out of this forsaken place.”

  “Mmmm, I like the sound of that,” Andromeda purred, her tail twitching. “Let’s make haste, I wouldn’t want to be caught in the next explosion.”

  “Right,” Margaret added. “No need to stay here any longer than needed.”

  Nodding, Ro started for the door, the key ready in his hand.

  This is it, our first real view of the outside world in two years. Or is it? Why can’t I remember?

  “Be ready,” he said defensively. “There’s still a battle raging outside.” As he reached the door, he heard shouts coming from outside, and the sounds of scuffling just beyond the door. Cautiously, he placed the key in the lock, preparing to open the worn portal. Behind him, the others watched with great interest, eager to escape the dreadful prison.

  Suddenly, there was a great explosion at the door, sending Ro flying backward. He slammed into the far stone wall and fell to the cold floor in a daze. His vision blurry, he glanced up at the scene in front of him, barely able to make out the figures of his companions. Where the door once stood, a great hole of scorching flames took its place. A tremendous heat radiated out from the fire, basking the room in an unholy inferno. Squinting up at the flames, Ro could make out the shapes of humanoid figures rushing through the fiery wall, charging at his shocked companions. He blinked, and his vision regained a sense of clarity. Shambling corpses and vile skeletons flooded through the blazing gateway. Rotting flesh hung loosely about their decaying frames, and yellow bones protruded from their ashy skin at unnatural angles. Their wide maws hung open, displaying vicious fangs, and their hollow eyes shone thirsty for blood. Living blood.

  The companions’ blood.

  Ro’s eyes opened in shock.

  Undead? How is this possible?

  Charging through the flames, the undead horde surged into the room like a great wave of death. Shaking his head, Ro rose to his feet, a sense of fear settling over him.

  It can’t be.

  Hazily, he looked back over at his companions, locked in mortal combat with the legion of undead. Immediately his clarity returned. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, and a boiling rage filled his mind. His draconian power unleashed inside of him, crashing through him with a terrifying fury. A roar escaped his lips, and a blinding bolt of lightning shot out of his mouth at the nearest skeleton, blasting it into shards of chard bone.

  Letting out another terrifying roar, Ro charged into the fray. He rushed over to Fasto, who was struggling against a zombie. Ro tore the zombie away and slammed it into the hard floor. His eyes flared, and he crushed the zombie’s head underfoot with a sickening crunch.

  Whirling around, he faced down the rest of the undead. Snarling, he dashed to and fro, tearing zombies apart with his talons and blasting skeletons away with devastating bolts of lightning. His eyes shot across the room, observing how his companions were faring. Andromeda was fending off a pair of zombies with her razor claws and crushing maw. SmibSmob and Nalgene fought side-by-side, casting devastating spells of water and shadow, decimating the hordes of undead. Margaret rushed around, crushing skeletons with devastating punches from her demonic arm.

  Suddenly, the raging wall of flame subsided, leaving a smoldering hole in the side of the building. Dark, cloaked figures entered the prison, studying at the surrounding carnage.

  Not hesitating to see who the cloaked figures were, Ro leaped at the nearest one, tearing at it with his talons. His claws cut through flesh, letting out a mist of blood. The figure fell back, crying out in pain. Moving in to land the finishing blow, Ro felt a searing stabbing pain in his back. His vision wavered, and he fell to his knees.

  No, not like this.

  He looked back and saw one of the cloaked figures standing over him, a gleam of triumph in its eyes.

  Damned bastard got me with a dagger.

  Suddenly, Andromeda appeared, leaping at the figure looming over Ro. With a furious roar, she tore the cloaked figure off his back and crashed onto the floor in a mess of blood and gore.

  Struggling to his feet, Ro looked around, his sense of fury redoubled. Whirling around, he charged at the nearest cloaked figure, ripping at it with his claws. A bolt of lightning shot from his mouth, blasting the figure in the face, and sending it soaring backwards, dead. He bellowed an enraged roar and let the lust of battle overcome him, enveloping him in its fiery embrace.

  Ro felt himself fall away, relying purely on battle instincts to keep him alive. He lost track of how many tore with his vicious claws, or how many he blasted away with his bolts of lightning. Sometime during the fight, he found himself reunited with Fasto, who had retrieved a flanged mace from one of the cloaked cultists. Together they pushed back against the horde of enemies. At one-point Andromeda rushed in front of him, only disappear again into the shadows, a bloody cultist locked in her jaw. Another time he spotted Margaret, the haze of blood lust twisting her face, and an inner flame of rage gleaming in her eyes. She was straddled on top of a zombie, beating its head into a pulp, sending pieces of gore flying in all directions.

  But the horde just kept advancing. No matter how many undead the companions slaughtered, or how many cultists they struck down, there was always another to take its place. Ro’s fury had already worn off, replaced by a feeling of exhaustion that weighed on his weary muscles. Wounds covered his body, leaving him battered and sore all over. His back pulsed like a radiating drum, and a fiery pain had settled in, dulling his senses. He glanced over at Fasto, who was no better off. The orc was panting heavily, and blood oozed from slashes and bruises all over.

  We have to get out of here.

  Turning, he saw the others, all but SmibSmob battered and bloodied. Andromeda looked over at him, her dark fur matted with black blood. She looked like a feral beast from a nightmare. She nodded, and then quickly turned around and ripped apart another zombie, splattering more blood across her delicate form, before disappearing into the surrounding shadows.

  One last, thunderous roar bursting from his maw, Ro leaped back into the fray in one final, desperate stand against the endless legions of undead. But before he could strike down another decaying foe, an icy chill crashed over him, and his very life-force seemed to be trying to escape his very body. His mind dazed, he glanced up, and was immediately filled with a sense of pure terror.

  A massive, hulking figure stood menacingly in the gaping hole in the wall. The gargantuan figure was donned from head to toe in fearsome black plate mail adorned with skulls and markings of death. Piercing spikes jutted out from the armor, and a thick, black cape flowed out behind it like a waterfall of shadow. In its hand, the creature held a mighty greatsword of pure black, an icy frost emanating from its razor edge. A shadowy aura seemed to swirl around the diabolical being, casting the place in a void of darkness. But it was the eyes that held Ro’s attention. Two chasms of icy blue flames, drawing his soul into their murky depth, and leaving him with the sense of inescapable terror.

  The being's eyes captivated Ro, gripping him like an icy vice.

  I can’t move!

  He tried to resist, but his horror overwhelmed him. Petrified, he watched as the dreadknight slowly stalked towards the gnome brothers. He tried to call out, but his voice stuck in his throat. Panicking, the two gnomes cast everything they had at it. Nalgene rained down torrents of huge water bolts, and SmibSmob cast swirling beams of shadow and death. The towering creature hardly noticed. The dreadknight pushed on, its deliberate march of doom not the least hindered by the mighty spells. The gnomes’ eyes filled with terror, and they fell back, meekly attempting to retreat. The dre
adknight raised its massive, black blade, and with a sudden, frosty slash, cut them both down.

  Ro watched on, unable to act. His senses blurred in anguish, and he let out a cry of despair.

  How could this be happening? How? This can’t be real!

  He heard a scream and saw Margaret charge the fearsome being, a storm of ice swirling around her demonic arm. With a cry of fury, she slammed her fist into the dreadknight, unleashing all her power with the devastating blow. The massive dreadknight staggered backward, but only a step. Then, with surprising speed, the creature shot forward and grabbed Margaret by the throat, lifting her effortlessly into the air. She cried out in agony, struggling to free herself from the iron grip. With a flick of its wrist, the dreadknight launched Margaret, sending her crashing into the far wall with a shriek of pain. Limply, she fell to the hard floor, motionless.

  Ro let out a cry, his mind numb.

  No, no, no, no! This can’t be happening. It can’t be!

  Turning, the dreadknight strode toward him and Fasto. Ro tried to retreat, but his mind was too overcome will terror for him to move. Tears started streaming down his face. Beside him, Fasto stood up, his face a mask of courage.

  He’s too damn dim-witted to realize what he’s up against. Just run, you fool!

  Fasto’s mouth snarled with rage, and he rushed the mighty dreadknight, swinging his bloody mace out in front of him. The dreadknight’s black greatsword flashed, and Fasto fell to the ground, an icy frost forming over a fatal slash across his chest.

  “NOOOO!” Ro cried as he fell backward, sobbing uncontrollably.

  I couldn’t save them, any of them. I let them down. I failed.

  Barely conscious of his surroundings, he felt a crushing hand grip his throat. The image of the dreadknight’s icy blue eyes filled his mind, and suddenly he was soaring through the air. With an anguished cry of pain, he crashed into one of the cells, bending the thick, iron bars in the impact. A sharp pain shot up his spine like a blazing dagger, and his legs went numb.