by R. J. Batla
Gabe nodded gravely. “Yes, I know. That’s why I’m here. You and your whole group are in grave danger, not to mention the whole East Side.”
“Gabe, you better get to your point really quick,” I said.
He nodded again. “Malstrak has the Darkstone. He’s had it the whole time.”
“What?” I screamed, standing up and pounding on the desk. “You’ve got to be shitting me! I busted my ass, as have the rest of us, almost died numerous times, not to mention having to fight the Uland, again almost dying, and you’re telling me this was all a wild goose chase? For not a damn thing? Our leaders sent me over here for nothing? Ames Talco sent me over here for nothing? Royn? For nothing?”
The Morsenube practically boiled under my skin, and I was breathing hard – if Leona hadn’t put her arm on me, effectively calming me down, I’d have lost control right there and destroyed the whole place.
Gabe hadn’t even flinched, but he did look sad. “Jayton, your reaction is completely justified. It was not the fault of our leaders. They’re doing the best they can with the knowledge they have. I’ve only recently come into the knowledge myself, with my oracle powers.”
Leona jerked her head. “So you’re an Easterner too?”
Gabe nodded. “Yes. Though I can’t tell you where exactly I am, in case this conversation is recorded or interrupted somehow.”
I heard all this in passing. I was distraught, downhearted, and feeling very betrayed at the moment. Not to mention pissed off. “So you’re telling me there’s no hope? That we’re done? Lost?”
“I wouldn’t be here if I thought there was no hope left.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Malstrak deceived you – deceived everyone. He wanted to keep you, the Ignis user, away from the battle. He knew you could turn the tide of the war at the Wall, so he concocted this elaborate scheme to have you enter this tournament, and have you sequestered in the Bowl so he could execute his plan and bring down the Wall. Had you been on the East Side, he never would have succeeded.”
His statement hit me like a blow to the head. Though I didn’t know how effective I would have been on the battlefield, it did sound like something a master strategist would do. Keep the enemy’s strongest player off the board, then you don’t even have to deal with him. And here I was, wasting time down here fighting for my life, while thousands of men and women died trying to defend the East Side. But didn’t the Uland say Malstrak wanted me alive?
“So then all is really lost? If he’s broken through at the Wall, what’s to stop him at the West Gate?”
“You are, but –” Gabe looked somewhere off to his left, like he’d heard something. “Damn, okay, we’re running even shorter on time, so listen up. If my visions hold true, the Wall is lost, probably even the whole Break Pass. But you can still save lives. You just have to get there. Use the Ignis and Leona’s Amplify power to allow Royn to teleport everyone back to the West Gate. He will be exhausted, but the rest of you will be able to join the fight.”
“Awesome, let’s do this. I’m ready to kick some ass –”
Gabe slammed his hand on the table. “That’s not all!” he yelled, visibly shaking like it was taking a great amount of effort to stand here and talk to us. “We’ve probably already lost the war. Malstrak’s too powerful, his army too big. But there’s another, more important war coming up. It’s still against Malstrak, but it’s a war for survival. If he’s to be defeated, you’ll need to complete a quest.”
“Not another one...”
Leona said, “Jayton, if he’s an oracle, we should listen to his advice. It seems like he’s really well-informed, and we have nothing else to lose at this point.”
“I...I guess. Go on, Gabe.”
Gabe grabbed his stomach like he was in pain, and we leaned forward to help him. He held a hand up to us. “I’m reaching the end of my time, and it’s painful for me to stay here, but there’s more information you need. While the Darkstone is gone, there are three prizes left to claim, and you must choose wisely. The sword is an almost unbeatable weapon. You’ll find that it will cleave through most anything. The shield is the most powerful shield that has ever been crafted. It will block all but the most potent attacks, and will keep you and anyone in your direct vicinity safe.” Gabe burst into a fit of coughing, the exertion needed to stay in this room with us making him sick.
“Both those sound great, especially for in the battle against Malstrak –”
“The third item,” Gabe said through a fit of coughing, “is a compass, except instead of pointing north, it will point to whatever you ask it to find. You just have to send your power into it to active it, and it will guide you where you need to go.” He had another coughing fit.
“Gabe,” Leona said. “You said something about a quest?”
Gabe’s face was red, and his voice sounded strained when he next spoke. “I’ve seen it. The only way to beat Malstrak is to gather five powerful items before you face him. Otherwise you’ll fail.”
“Okay, sounds good. Where are they?”
Gabe didn’t even acknowledge my question. “Each is heavily guarded. They’re scattered throughout Terraunum. I don’t know their exact location, but the compass can be used to guide you, should you choose it.”
“What are the items?”
“You actually have one on your hip – your sword. There are four more – the helmet, the breastplate, the shield, and the belt. Once combined, you’ll have the power to defeat Malstrak, Jayton.”
“Me again? Why me?”
“You’re the best suited for the task. With the power of the five objects and the Ignis, you’re the best chance of defeating Malstrak. If you fail, there may be others who would try, but you’re currently the best statistical chance. Even though it’s still low.” Gabe doubled over and threw up on the floor, retching and holding both his stomach and his head before jerking back up again.
“Each item has its own powers, which you’ll have to discover when you find them. It’s up to you, Jayton Baird, to find them and to save Terraunum. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?”
The Ignis had turned on all by itself, so I understood what he said, which was from some ancient dead language. And apparently the Ignis worked as a translator. “Who guards the guardians?”
Gabe nodded. “It has to be you, Jayton. Evil only ever seems stronger than good. That’s part of its power. It’s part of its lie. Remember who you fight for – your friends, the innocent, those you love. It will help you in your journey.”
“Gabe!” Leona said, reaching her hand out. The man had started to fade, like he was slowly teleporting away from us.
“Gabe!” I said. “I need more. I don’t know what I’m doing!”
“My time here is up. I can help you no more.” As his physical appearance faded, his voice grew weaker, but he kept talking. “Get to the West Gate, stop Malstrak and his army, or more lives will be lost. Then find the four other items, or you’ll face Malstrak underpowered and be defeated.”
“Gabe! What do I do once I find them? What if they won’t work for me?”
“Come find me first, Jayton Baird! I suggest you use the compass. You can use it to find me in the Divide Mountains. Hopefully by then, more options will be open to us. Follow your heart, Jay. Remember who you are, trust your friends, don’t let the darkness take you, don’t let –”
With an audible pop, Gabe disappeared, his desk and chairs with him, plopping us both on the floor.
Leona and I looked at each other, stood up and dusted ourselves off. My mind was racing – not only had I just been given a ton of information; it had just been revealed that my last year of training and fighting had been orchestrated by the enemy. I was tempted to completely ignore Gabe’s advice, to grab my reward and leave. I had won the tournament, after all — I’d earned this. I didn’t owe anybody anything. My mission was complete, the box checked. I had done my part.
I looked at Leona. Her face was full of sadness and
concern, and I knew. I couldn’t ignore the advice we’ve been given. I couldn’t abandon her. Or my friends outside waiting on us.
“Well, Jay? What are we gonna do?”
I screwed up my courage and held my head high. “We’re going to pick an item, then we’re going to do just as Gabe said: get our asses back to the fight and see if we can save some people.”
Her face broke out in a smile. “I knew you’d say that, love! Let’s get this done.”
We turned to the four stands behind us and I looked them over from left to right.
An unbeatable weapon – I wasn’t kidding before when I said it would be super useful. I didn’t know exactly what it did, but if it was unbeatable, how could it not help in a quest or war? But if what Gabe said was true, I already had an extremely valuable and powerful sword, right here on my hip. Shaking my head, I knew that wasn’t the item I needed.
Next came the shield – solid silver and in a vaguely triangular shape. This one was super tempting – being able to protect myself and those around me? It didn’t get more viable than that.
Especially with Leona, the love of my life, standing right here next to me. At least I thought she was the love of my life.
My eye caught the small circular item. This was the logical choice. The compass that pointed you where you wanted to go. But the other two items...
“Jayton, do I have to say we need to take the compass?” Leona said, eyebrow raised.
“An unbeatable sword! Unbreakable shield! Think of what we could do with them. Think of what –”
“And think about what Gabe said.”
“How do we know he’s who he says he is?”
“We don’t, really. But my intuition tells me to trust him. He didn’t have to come here and clearly being here caused him physical pain. Why would he go through that if it was all a lie? Plus, my Guide powers haven’t led me astray yet.”
Damnit, she was right. As usual. With a sigh, I walked to the compass. “All right, I know you’re right. Let’s take the boring compass and get out of here.”
As my hand closed around it, a warm sensation shot up my arm, as if it connected itself with me.
I’d have to spend more time with it later. Right now, we had a battle to get to. The compass had a chain, so I hung it around my neck and stuffed it under my shirt, then grabbed Leona’s hand. As we turned back around, we saw the door had re-energized itself, probably as soon as I grabbed the compass, effectively “choosing” my item. We stepped towards it, hand in hand.
With that same electric tingle, we were back in the room we had just left. Except now all our friends were on the ground, unconscious.
All except one. And he had a bloody dagger in his hand.
Chapter 66 – Jayton Baird
EULESS DAVENPORT WHIPPED around at our entrance, his face suddenly shifting to that of an overlarge cobra and back again. “Oh, Jayton, I’d so wish you’d have allowed me to finish my work and make my exit before you’d appeared again! I had so much planned for their blood!”
“Eu-Eu-Euless?” I asked, clutching hard to Leona’s hand. “What’s going on? What did you do to them?” My brain was having a hard time registering what I was seeing.
He laughed. Except it wasn’t the voice of the Manu I knew. “These few are probably dead,” he said, looking below him. “The rest are just knocked out since you so rudely interrupted me. The disable power that is unique to my race allows us to knock anyone out cold without moving a muscle, as long as they don’t suspect it and their guard is down. Pretty handy for my line of work.”
Looking down, I was horrified to see that he was standing over Josey, red blood oozing over her purple skin from several stab wounds and what looked like Euless had begun eating her insides. Not Josey! The Elf’s face and body were entirely slack, and there was so much blood on the ground. Too much blood. There were a couple of other bodies there as well.
Anger immediately flared up so hard and fast that I had to strain to force it back down, the Morsenube coming to life inside me again. What the hell was going on? Suddenly Euless’s face shifted again, this time the snake visage holding a good three seconds before flashing back.
Leona was the quickest on the uptake and changed her staff into a bow and energy arrow. “You’re an Anguis! One of the shifters from the Folach Mountains!” Not knowing exactly what was going on, I drew my sword too, and took a fighting stance.
“Oh, so you know about us?” he said, a look of skepticism on his face. “Surprising from an Easterner.”
Leona’s eyes narrowed and she almost growled. “Only what I’ve read. And I see you’ve chosen a snake is your animal face—the fitting image for a belly-crawling fiend!” Then to me in a lower voice, since I was clearly clueless, she said, “They’re a tribe of Senturians whose main Quantum power is shapeshifting. They bond with an animal and their faces change forever to a humanoid form of that animal — the body of a human and the head of that animal. They have to shift form to be acceptable in human society. He can change in an instant — so be ready. He can even turn into a snake.”
Her statement suddenly triggered a memory that I hadn’t realized I had forgotten. Back at the Old Man’s place, when we were fighting the dragon and the general, I remembered, clear as day, a snake crawling into the area where I had lain everyone who had been injured in the battle. That had to be where he’d made the switch; he got rid of Euless’ body and then took his place on our team.
I said out loud, “You’ve been with us since we fought the dragon! The entire time we’ve been at the Bowl!”
The Euless-snake laughed, with a hint of a reptilian voice. “Finally figured it out, have you? It took you long enough. It almost took you too long to win the tournament, Jayton. A couple of more days and I would have run out of blood from the Manu to maintain the image. I would have had to escalate my plan. But lucky for me, you did what you were supposed to do, and here we are.” An evil grin split his face.
I couldn’t help myself. “But, what the hell? You’ve been living with us for how long? Months? And we never noticed?”
The Shifter hadn’t moved and was still standing over the bleeding Josey. I decided to see how ballsy he actually was. Taking a step towards him, I started drawing more power inside me, preparing to attack him. I slowly advanced, and Leona picked up on what I was doing and did the same, spreading out slightly as to not give him an easy two-for-one target.
Doing exactly what I hoped he would, the Shifter started backing up towards the door, away from my friends. Chancing a glance down at Josey’s disfigured body, I was horrified.
Even while backpedaling, the Shifter kept his mouth running and a grin on his face. He was up to something. “Yes, months. And it was both the most boring and the most fun thing I’ve ever had to do. Since Malstrak already had the Darkstone, it was almost pointless once you made it to the tournament. But it was ever so useful to send information to Malstrak on you, and to make sure you stayed here with no chance of leaving. I was able to feed him even more intelligence on the defense of the Wall and the Gates since you so graciously shared that with the rest of the team. At least until Royn suspected something and put a stop to it.”
Leona’s face was set in stone. “Why are you telling us all this? Seems pretty stupid to me.”
The Shifter laughed. “I’m enjoying watching you squirm—to know how much you’ve been deceived; how much you didn’t know was happening. Oh, the tragedy of it all! It will be a great comfort for you as you die. You’ll be stuck in here since I killed the teleporter.”
Oh no. Royn! I didn’t have time to worry about it right this second. “I don’t think we’re the ones in danger of dying, Shifter.” I conjured a fireball in the palm of my outstretched hand, holding it there and pointing toward the Shifter. “You know you stand no chance of leaving here alive, right?” Turning the Ignis on and off quickly, I asked for his level, and determined that he was significantly weaker than all of us, but that one Quantum power had made
all the difference in fooling us. “What’s your name, snake? I want to know before I kill you.”
“Name’s Hiss,” he said with a flourished bow, though he kept his head up to stare straight at us. “I’m so glad to have formally met you.”
“That’s a stupid name!” I screamed, the ball of fire outside my palm growing slightly larger with my angry outburst. “You’re going to pay for what you did, for fooling us all, but mostly for killing Josey!”
Hiss laughed again. “I don’t care what you think of my name, Fire Eyes. And despite how strong you are, that doesn’t mean I won’t be the one to kill you!”
“In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s two on one. Plus, you’re no match for us since we know your secret. Your disguise won’t help you now.”
With a fiendish grin, the Shifter pulled out the overly large key that allowed us to get into the room. “Not if I have this.” He reached behind his back and unlocked the door.
I frantically checked my pockets – like it would have fit – my belt, everywhere – but the key was nowhere to be found. “When the hell did you get that?”
“Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. So distracted with the prize, never even noticed a hand slip in and take the key. Once I lock this door, it won’t open again until the next tournament winner. Which might not ever happen again! Enjoy rotting here, champion! I’m off to join my master for his victory at the West Gate!”
“Fire!”
I let loose with my fire and Leona shot her bow three times in rapid succession. But the Shifter was too fast, he had already opened the door and shut it behind him, our attacks bouncing off harmlessly against the door. We heard the lock click as we ran towards it, slamming our shoulders into the door.
Quickly twisting the handle, it didn’t budge. “No! No! No! You won’t get away with this!”
Leona ran her hands over the door. “Jay, I can’t sense his presence. He’s gone.” From behind us, we heard some groans of pain. “Let’s see who’s hurt, then we’ll figure a way out of here to and kill that son of a bitch.”
