by Dale Britton
Sarah closed her eyes and tried to rise off of the ground. Her feet stayed firmly planted on the floor. "This is silly."
"Let's see, " George said. "What else is there?"
"Well, there are rings for summoning elementals, or other creatures," Ollie said.
"Oh, I hope it's not one of those," Sarah said. But she tried dutifully to summon creatures. Nothing happened.
"How about a ring of protection?" George said. "I'll try to hit you on the shoulder."
"Thanks," Sarah said sarcastically, but she allowed George to try to hit her. He had no trouble connecting with her shoulder.
"Ow!" Sarah said, even though George hadn't been trying to hit her very hard.
"How about a ring of speed?" Ollie suggested. "Do you feel any faster?"
"Not that I can tell," Sarah said.
"Run over to the other side of the chapel as fast as you can," George said.
Sarah sighed. "Really?"
"Just try," George said. "We're running out of ideas."
"All right, but this is stupid." She stood up and ran. There was a blur of motion, and in a fraction of a second, she was twenty feet away.
"Yes!" George exclaimed. "We got it!"
"Whoa," Sarah said. "That's literally the craziest thing ever." She tried again, running back to the kitchen in a blur.
"Wow," Ollie said. "Can I try?"
When the others returned from the back yard, Ollie, Sarah, and George showed them what the ring could do. Everyone wanted a turn of course. For the next half hour or so they took turns dashing around the room at blurring speeds. It was more fun than riding a roller coaster.
"It seems to only work when you want it to," Ollie said. "If you're not consciously trying to move fast then you just move at normal speed. Good thing, actually. It would be a real pain if you had to move so fast all of the time."
"This is going to come in handy," Ian said.
"If only we'd figured it out before those bugs had attacked," Sarah said. "It might have made a difference."
"Well," Ollie said, "everything turned out alright, and now we know."
"I wonder if these things would work in our world," George said. "Imagine wearing that thing at a track meet or using the bow in an archery competition."
"That would be cheating," Sarah said. "It wouldn't be fair."
"I know," George said. "But just imagine."
"Let's just concentrate on getting home," Ollie said. "First we need to make it to the elves."
Chapter Thirty-Two
That night Ollie couldn't sleep. The group had decided to head out in the morning to go visit the elves, but Ollie couldn't get the image of Johnny's ruined leg out of his head. That had happened only a couple of miles from the outpost, where monsters were supposed to be rare. The group had decided to buy horses for their journey to the elves, but even so, it would take over two days to get there. That meant two nights camping in the wild. In the game, you were usually safe when you camped. Ollie was afraid this might not be true in the "real" Valoria, especially if there were demons roaming around at night.
After an hour of tossing and turning, Ollie gave up. He left his cot, lit a candle in the remains of the fire, and pulled out the spellbook that Wendall had given him. He found the book fascinating. Magic had always been an impossible idea, something that went completely against science. But he could see now that magic was actually its own science. It followed rules, it used energy, and had limits to what it could do.
Ollie turned to the part of the book that explained how to call forth the energy needed for a spell. A portion of the power had to come from the person who was casting the spell, and the rest was pulled from the world around the caster. Ollie studied the formulae involved. The variables involved were different than those used in physics, but the principles were similar. For example, willpower was one of the more important factors involved in magic. Ollie had never realized before that this was something you could quantify.
He decided it was time to try an experiment. He studied the page again, committing the formulae to memory. He then stood up and moved away from the beds. If by some miracle this worked, he didn't want to accidentally hurt any of his friends or damage the church. He decided the safest place would be in the kitchen, where the floor in front of the oven was made of stone.
Ollie went over the procedures one more time then closed his eyes. He pictured the equations in his mind. He spoke the formula out loud, feeling rather silly while he did it. Ollie reached for the energy inside his body and reached for the energy in the air around him. He could feel it tingling all around, but it was just out of reach.
So close.
Ollie was disappointed, but then Wendall's advice came back to him. He had to believe it would work. He had grown up believing magic was a fairy tale, that it was all pretend. But now he knew it wasn't. He'd seen it work. Wendall's fire spell. Father Peter's healing. The ring of speed, the sword, and the bow. The blink dogs. Magic was real. Even if it only worked in this world, it did work. And Ollie could use it–he just knew he could.
He spoke the formula again, enunciating clearly. According to the book, in time he wouldn't need to speak it. It would become a part of him. But for now, he followed the steps precisely. He reached for the energy. Willpower. Belief. And this time, he felt it. The energy of his body joined with the energy of the world. He spoke a word and released the energy. A flame appeared in the air above his outstretched hand. It was small and not very bright, but it was there. He could feel the heat of it on his palm. He felt a surge of triumph at his accomplishment. He was actually doing magic!
"That's so awesome," said Sarah from right behind him. Ollie jumped, startled by her voice, and the little flame disappeared.
"Oops, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you. Is that the fire spell?"
"I just did magic, Sarah! I worked an actual magic spell."
"I saw. Can you do it again?"
"Maybe. I hope so. I'll try."
Ollie concentrated again and formed the formula in his mind. He spoke it again, and reached for the energy, then released it into his spell. This time the flame was stronger, and he knew why. His belief was stronger now. He knew he could do it. He put more energy into the flame. It grew larger, like a small ball of dancing light. He held it for a few seconds, then allowed the energy to disperse. The ball of flame disappeared.
A wave of dizziness came over Ollie and he staggered, almost falling over. Sarah grabbed his arm to steady him.
"Are you alright?"
"Magic takes energy." His voice sounded weak, even to him. "I'm not used to it."
Sarah helped him to a chair, then sat down at his side.
"I'm alright," he said. "Just need some rest. I'll probably be able to sleep now."
"I heard you get up. When you didn't come back, I came to see what you were up to."
"Nothing much," Ollie said.
"Yeah, right. You're a wizard, Ollie."
"Well, I kind of know one spell, and it wipes me out when I do it. Not much of a wizard."
Sarah put her hand on his shoulder. "You're just getting started. Just wait. You'll be a master in no time."
Chapter Thirty-Three
"I miss my family," Ollie said. It was the morning of their third full day in Valoria, and the group was on their way to the stables to buy horses for their journey. "My parents are probably freaking out right now. They probably think we've all been kidnapped or something."
"At least you have parents," Jordan said. "Nobody's worried about me."
"That's not true, Jordan," Ollie said. "The Walsh's care about you."
"Whatever."
"Well," Sarah said, trying to change the subject, "I miss my bathroom and my shower. And my hairdryer. And my clothes. I feel like a barbarian. Oh, um, no offense, Jordan."
"You look just as beautiful as you always do," Ollie said, then blushed when he realized he had said it out loud, and in front of everyone. Jordan made a gagging sound.
George, for one, didn't notice. "I miss my Xbox," he said.
It was another gorgeous summer day, which helped combat the melancholy they all felt. The stable was small and didn't have a large selection of horses for sale. This was actually a good thing because none of the teens knew very much about horses. The only one who had actually ridden before was Sarah, who had friends with horses.
They bought six horses–five to ride and one to carry extra bags of supplies. Ten gold pieces were enough to pay for the horses as well as for the saddles and saddlebags. Another gold piece paid for enough horse feed to last for five days. The stable hands tried not to laugh as the teens half led and half dragged their horses away.
Back at the church, Father Peter showed the party how to put the saddles on the horses, how to get on, and taught them basic riding skills. Due to her previous experience, Sarah was the best rider among them. Johnny turned out to be really good as well, taking to the saddle like a natural. The others had a rougher time. George had taken the smallest of the horses, thinking it would be the easiest to ride. It turned out to be the opposite. His horse was full of energy and seemed to like bouncing more than walking. George had to hold on for dear life to keep from falling off.
"It will get better as you go," the priest promised. "Just remember to relax. Don't fight the horse. You are a team, working together."
"Easy for you to say," George said as his horse bounced up and down. "My horse has ADD."
"He's just excited," Sarah said. "They've been cooped up for a while. They want to go for a ride."
"Well, I'm not real excited about the ride," Ian said. "Our last trip didn't go that well."
"I know," Ollie said. When he thought about how close they had come to losing Johnny... "But we can't just stay here at the outpost. If we're ever going to get back home, we need to find someone who can help us, and the elves are the closest."
"I'm fine, Ian," Johnny said. "Don't worry about me."
"At least we're more prepared this time," Ollie said, "thanks to that treasure you set up, Ian."
Father Peter helped them to pack up their horses with their supplies, which consisted of their clothes, food, and blankets they had bought at the store. Ian wore the magic sword in a scabbard on his belt, and Johnny carried the bow and the quiver of arrows. Sarah wore the ring and Ollie kept possession of the protection amulet. Everyone other than Ian kept the weapons the priest had given them the day before.
They were ready to go.
Chapter Thirty-Four
The group said their goodbyes to Father Peter and his children. Talia and Nicolas had to give everyone a hug before they could leave.
"I know that you desire to return to your home," the priest said. "and I am sorry that I am the cause of your current situation. But there is a reason that you are here. This world needs your presence, and you have need of this world. This is what my heart tells me."
"I'm still having a hard time believing that this world actually exists," Ian said.
"Trust me," Father Peter said, smiling. "It's just as real as you are."
Ollie wondered about that. They somehow found themselves in Valoria, a world that he and his friends thought they had made up for their game. Yet here it was, seemingly a real place. What if their own world, the earth, was just part of some other person's imagination? What if Ollie, and Sarah, and all of them were just characters in someone else's story? And what if a person here in Valoria invented a whole new world, full of different people and races. Would that world exist too? It made Ollie's brain hurt just to think about it.
It was late morning when the party left the outpost. The skies were clear and a warm breeze accompanied them on their journey. Butterflies floated in the air at the edges of the trail. Their horses were calm, even Frisky, George's pony. George had named it himself. In other circumstances, it would be a perfect day, just six friends on an outing in paradise.
But the memory of the giant bugs was still very fresh in their minds. The group knew only too well the dangers that hid in this world. At any moment, a horrible creature could appear to attack them. Every sound from the surrounding forest was a potential enemy, every shadow a possible monster. Everybody tried to stay as close as they could to Ollie and the protection of the talisman.
"All right, Ian. Let's go over your campaign again." Ollie was mostly talking to break the tension. "We have a demon lord. What are his goals?"
Ian sighed. They had gone through this a hundred times already. "He wants to bring his armies to the mortal plane. He'll avoid direct confrontations until his power grows and his followers have arrived. Then he will attack and destroy everybody in this world."
"So the sickness, he's not really doing that on purpose?" Sarah asked.
"Not really," Ollie said. "It's just a symptom of his presence in the world. Now the people that are disappearing, that's totally different. He needs them for something. Do you know what he's doing with them, Ian?"
Ian turned away, avoiding his friends' eyes. "Yes," he said reluctantly.
"Come on," George said. "Spill it."
"He's using them to work in his mine," Ian said. "He needs a rare metal to create the portal to the underworld."
"Right," Ollie said. "Silurnium. I should have remembered that. That's what happened before the last demon war. And when he has enough of the metal to create his portal..."
"He'll kill the people," George said. "Use their life energy to power his ritual."
"How long will it take him?" Sarah asked.
"I don't know," Ian said. "I was actually planning to have him be ready exactly when you found him. It's more dramatic that way."
"Well, I don't really understand the rules of what's happening to us," Ollie said, "but things here appear to parallel our game back home. I wouldn't be surprised if it happened exactly the way you were planning."
"That's assuming we actually go after the demon," Johnny said. "I'm hoping we'll find a way out of this world long before we have to see that thing."
Ian laughed without humor. "I'm still hoping I'll wake up in my own bed and find out all of this is just a dream."
Chapter Thirty-Five
After a few tense but uneventful hours, the group stopped to rest and eat their lunch while Ollie consulted Wendall's map. They were in a wide clearing in the forest. It should have been pleasant, but the trees loomed over them from the edges of the clearing, and everywhere they looked they felt eyes watching.
"We're doing well," Ollie reported after swallowing a mouthful of bread. "If nothing goes wrong, we'll be there right on schedule."
"What's wrong with you?" George exclaimed. "How could possibly say something like that?"
"Like what?"
"'If nothing goes wrong.' You're just asking for it."
"I just meant that..."
He was interrupted by the horses, who suddenly started to neigh loudly and pull at their tethers.
George shook his head. "See. I told you! Never say stuff like that."
"Get on the horses," Ollie ordered. "Fast!"
Inexperienced horsemen that they were, it took over a minute to get everyone back into their saddles. It didn't help that the horses were trying their best to get loose and run away. Whatever the horses sensed, it was scaring the heck out of them. The humans, for their part, couldn't see or hear anything that might be causing the horses' distress.
"What is it?" Johnny asked as he settled into his saddle. "Where is it coming from?" Nobody could answer.
"Everyone hold your reins tight," Sarah said. "The horses are spooked. If you don't control them, they'll bolt. You might end up on the ground if that happens."
She didn't add "and something might eat you," but they all thought it.
A strange rumbling sound could be heard now, but it wasn't clear where it was coming from. It was getting louder each second, and it was moving toward the group. The teens led their horses toward the path, eager to leave the clearing as quickly as possible.
"Let's get out
of here," Ollie said. "I think I know what they are, and we do not want to be here when they arrive."
As if on cue, the ground began to erupt only twenty feet away, exactly where they had been sitting for their meal. Several smooth grey forms forced their way out of the ground, flinging dirt in every direction. Their mouths opened, showing rows and rows of needle-sharp teeth. The horses screamed in fear and bolted forward.
"What are those things?" Sarah screamed.
"Land sharks," George gasped, holding onto his horse with all of his meager strength. "Johnny's invention."
"Sorry," Johnny said.
Somehow everyone managed to stay on their horses as the frightened animals galloped down the trail, leaving the frustrated monsters behind.
Chapter Thirty-Six
"I'm starting to not like this place very much," Sarah said. "Land sharks? Really?"
They had stopped to rest the horses after a couple of miles. At first, they had been able to hear the sharks coming after them through the ground, but the horses had soon outdistanced the monsters.
"If the horses hadn't warned us..." Ian said. "They saved our lives."
"Maybe," Ollie said. "Or it might have been the horses that attracted the sharks in the first place."
"Land sharks?" Sarah said again.
"Look," Johnny said, "I said I'm sorry. They just seemed like a cool idea. You should see my sketches."
"I don't ever want to see those things again."
Everyone wanted to keep moving, including the horses. Ollie kept a close eye on the map. The biggest difficulty was that there were no real landmarks on the trail. There weren't any signs or villages, or really anything at all except for endless trees and hills. They were truly in undeveloped country here. The trail that they were following was narrow and it wound around the hills, but fortunately, it was clear and well maintained, though who it might be that maintained it was a mystery. It was also empty. During the entire day of riding, they did not meet any other travelers. They occasionally encountered smaller trails that branched off from the main path, but the party ignored these.
