“I thought Helena here was a freaky fantasy, but Winona Witch sounds simply irresistible,” Burgundy raised his hands when Benny shot him a glance, “No offense, Ben. I know it’s probably not very pleasant…hearing me rant about your mom like that.”
“Don’t call her that. She may have given birth to me, but she will never be my mother. She abandoned my father, Aiken, and I before I was even old enough to remember. That’s bad enough, but even that doesn’t compare to how she’s allowed herself to become twisted…demonic. She’s given herself to demons and black magic. She’s probably killed countless innocents in her allegiance to the Kudgels; she’s manipulated Ammarod, and tried to turn me against you, Pakk, and everything I stand for. She and Ammarod can both go to hell!” Benny violently kicked a pebble on the ground.
Dale shook his head. “Don’t say that, Benny. Hate their actions and beliefs, but don’t hate them. Everything starts out good…I did, you did, and I’m sure your mother and Ammarod were once good souls. But life can turn even the greatest of saints into devils. We don’t know their stories, and it doesn’t excuse their actions, just as your drunkenness and thirst for vengeance doesn’t excuse your killing of Belasco and his gang, nor do my emotions excuse me my ill deeds.”
“Well, what the hell am I supposed to feel? Friends have been killed, cities and countries have been devastated and overwhelmed, and the very existence of Pakk is at stake because of them, and people like them!”
“Dale’s right,” Helena said, “You have a right to be upset…even to use lethal force on your mother and brother in order to stop them, but that shouldn’t be our goal.”
“And what’s that, Helena? To bend over and take it up the ass?!” Benny shouted, his voice echoing through the trees.
“Might wanna hold your tongue, Ben. That kinda talk gets me excited!” Benny couldn’t help but chuckle at Burgundy’s remark.
“Our goal should be to stop them, not kill them,” Dale said. “To help bring about the best outcome for everyone. Do you forget the mercy you and dear Virtue had on me? I was as bad, if not worse, than your mother and Ammarod have ever been. If anyone deserved to die for their evildoing, it was me. But you saw through my evil, to the goodness I had locked away inside myself. I’m not saying it’s easy, or even possible, for you to change your mother and brother’s ways…to make them see the light. Some, unfortunately, are beyond that. But we should still hope for the best. If you allow your vengeance and hatred of your family to consume you…yes, family is exactly what they are…you’ll be no better than them and perhaps worse for it. Understand what I’m saying, Benny the Beast?” Dale looked over his shoulder at Benny, and he shuddered with shame at the look of disappointment on his mentor’s disfigured face.
“I can’t just let it go, Dale…especially not after what Ammarod did to my Virtue!”
“I’m not saying to forget what they did, or to not hold them accountable. I’m saying that you have to forgive them. Let go of the hatred, the anger. That’s what I should’ve done, long ago, but I held it in, and soon it was beyond my power to change. It took Virtue to do that. Do you want the life I had? Do you want the memory of murdering, raping, and ruining the lives of countless men, women, and children, of all races of beings? I doubt it, sincerely.”
“I hear what you’re saying…still…” Benny’s face was red with rage.
“Good God, boy, what would Jack think if he saw you like this?” Dale retorted.
Benny was struck to the core. The memory of Jack didn’t take away the hate he felt for his kin, or the Kudgels. However, he realized he had to at least try to do what Dale was suggesting. But there was an anger inside him that was unrelenting.
“You talk the talk,” Benny said, “But when Helena gave you the ash wood pendent, you said you wanted nothing to do with your father, Nolan, or your ‘sister.’”
Dale stopped in his tracks, turned, and grabbed Benny by the collar with both hands. It startled Benny, and for a split second the staff fell from his grasp onto the ground. Dale’s eyes flashed with the same fury Benny witnessed before Virtue’s helpful bite, but Dale quickly regained composure.
“You’re right, Ben. Perhaps I have demons of my own to quell. But while I still harbor negative thoughts towards Nolan—and have no desire to see him any time soon—I accepted his gift and I’m sincerely grateful to him and his daughter for helping Helena. I don’t wish them harm, nor will I go out of my way to make them miserable. I simply want nothing to do with him. So think twice before opening your mouth. There was a time when I would’ve gladly cut your head off for what you just said.” Dale winked, showing that no anger was held towards Benny, but the young man’s vengeance stood firm.
“And there was a time I wouldn’t have been able to stop you. But I doubt you’d be so quick to cut me down now!” Benny held out his hand and the magic staff shot up from the ground and into his hand.
The group stood still for a split second. Dale’s face was contorted with a mixed look of shame at Benny’s hateful remark, and shock at the act of levitation Benny had just performed.
“How’d you do that, boy?” Burgundy said as they resumed hiking.
Benny himself was somewhat perplexed. “I don’t know. It just kinda happened…probably because of my emotions. My mom is a witch, after all, and she said the staff would only work for me…maybe I’m able to do things with the staff in ways I couldn’t normally do, or maybe I have more magic in me than I thought.”
“Don’t wear yourself out figuring it out. We still have several days of the journey ahead of us,” Helena stated.
So they continued marching up the mountain, until the trees gradually dispersed and the air became cooler. The next day, flora became even sparser as they approached the summit of the mountain, and soon they saw faint traces of snow along the now steep path. The side of the mountain became so steep they were forced to walk sideways, backs against the icy stone of the mountainside. They went on like this, stopping for a few hours here and there to catch their breath, but trekking on until they saw crude footsteps cut into the slope in front of them. Looking up, it seemed to Benny as if the mountain ascended forever, even into the clouds. The companions were freezing, wearing what heavy clothing they had, and they were all hesitant about the climb.
“Not much to hold on to,” Helena said, “It’s almost straight up into the air…more like a stone ladder.”
“Well, we can’t turn back now, Thunder Thighs. We wouldn’t have enough rations to last us a return trip anyway.” Burgundy slapped her on the butt.
Helena shot Burgundy a wicked glare and the dwarf chuckled, obviously realizing the error. Helena, who was too tired to quarrel on the mountainside, winked at him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I admire your persistence, but the jokes do get old after a while.”
“You know you like it,” Burgundy said.
With Dale taking the lead, they began the climb into the unknown.
They climbed for what seemed like an eternity, clinging to the steps on all fours as they ascended at an almost vertical angle. With his staff crudely strapped to his back, Benny took the rear, moving slowly so as to not drop his precious weapon.
“Pick up the pace, boy! You look like an ant from up here!” Burgundy’s distant voice called from above.
Benny’s finger’s felt raw from the cold stone. They hadn’t expected Alfen Gulfadex to be at the summit of a mountain; obvious as it might have seemed with the ancient city being home to the Frost Dwarves and all. Benny was beginning to wish they’d taken the risk of properly preparing for their journey. His mind overloaded with thought, his foot slipped on a step and he fell backwards to his death, pack, staff and all.
“Help…” Benny barely had time to call out before feeling a strong hand grab his left wrist. Looking up, Benny saw the grinning face of Quill the Sorai. Treading the air with his great wings, he pulled Benny up into a bear hug in order to transport him to the mountain summit.
&nb
sp; “My equipment…my staff…I have to…”
“You talking about this piece of driftwood?” a voice cut Benny off. Looking to his right, Benny saw two more Sorais flying with Quill, one clutching his staff, and the other his travelling bag.
“Don’t worry, kid. We gotcha covered.”
In a matter of seconds, Quill pumped his wings and they shot upward. Soon, he landed, Benny in tow, on the stone ground of the mountain top. Dale and the others rushed to them.
“You’re an angel, Quill…no pun intended,” Benny said, shaking the winged man’s hand.
Dale embraced his old rival from the tournament. “It’s good to see you. I see those wings came in handy again.”
After Quill introduced his companions to his fellow Sorai, named Zenith and Cloud, they turned away from the cliffside to get their first view of Alfen Gulfadex.
“And I thought the sages at Knavesmare had a kickin’ pad,” Burgundy said, almost speechless.
Every last structure of the city before them was comprised of pure ice. The architecture was unlike anything the companions had ever seen, which seemed to be characterized by differing sizes of spires and domes. The blue to blue-green hues of the city created a deeply calming effect as they approached the largest domed structure, which appeared to be the center of the city. As they approached the arched entrance to the building, two milk-white dwarves with equally white hair and beards appeared from inside. Ushering the companions in without a word, they followed a narrow hallway which seemed to spiral along the inside perimeter, moving inward until opening onto a large indoor amphitheater surrounded on all sides, save the entrance, by stadium seats carved into the ice itself. Benny quickly spotted an old acquaintance.
“Kolpak?” Benny asked.
The frost dwarf nodded. His beard was thicker, and his muscles stouter than they had been at the tournament in Upper Sultry where the companions had seen him last. The most obvious change, however, was the thinning hair and worry lines which wrinkled his ivory brow.
“It’s good to see old friends.” He glanced at Burgundy and his smile faded. “And new ones, unwelcome as they may be…Come. We have much to discuss.”
They walked to the podium in the center of the room, raised several feet above the ground. A large, ceremonial quilt had been laid down in the center of the stage, sewn together with fragments of dark, earthy materials—browns, tans, and reds—with the reoccurring image of a bear-like animal embroidered in many spots. Seated in a large circle on the quilt were several dozen frost dwarves, obviously of high stature within the community. Most of them, like Kolpak, were warriors, clad in animal skins and possessing hefty war clubs and axes made from stone and animal bone. One individual, seated in the center of the circle, had wrapped himself in a thick, maroon robe and wore a headdress made from the head and pelt of a white bear the likes of which Benny had never seen before. He appeared to be deep in meditation.
“I’m fascinated by your city, Kolpak. I tried to imagine what Alfen Gulfadex would be like, but I never imagined this. A city made of ice!”
“The name Alfen Gulfadex literally means City of Ice…” Kolpak said, motioning for the companions to sit down with the other frost dwarves.
“The architecture is amazing! I would love to learn more about the history of this city, its culture, how they’ve managed to erect these massive, flawless buildings from pure ice.” Dale, seated at the edge of the quilt, reached out and touched the icy floor of the stage, “It’s ice, all right. Every bit of it is pure ice! But there’s something different about it…it’s not cold like ice normally is…it’s…”
“Hospitable…” Burgundy said, lying back on the quilt.
“The ice is made from the magic of my people. It’s an ancient process we take great pride in, and rarely do we share the secrets of our magic with outsiders. It is strong, durable, and never melts. Even in a desert, it would remain as cold and hard as it is now.”
“What is this building?” Helena asked.
“It’s our meeting hall…our population has dwindled through the generations. Centuries ago, our people would have filled every square inch of this auditorium,” Kolpak said, his voice thick with disdain.
“And that guy…?” Benny said, pointing towards the seated figure in the middle of the room.
“He is the last shaman of our people. He has the ability of foresight, through both space and time. With enough meditation, he could describe a mating dance of the red-capped manakin of the southern jungles, or the number of bees in a hive hanging in the tree right outside your window back home. Right now, he is trying to locate the Kudgels, their numbers, and how soon they will be upon us.”
“Well, what are we waiting for, dammit?” Burgundy lurched up, “Show us where yer keeping them damn horns so we can just destroy them and be done with it.”
“It’s not that simple,” Kolpak said with a laugh.
Benny frowned. “What do you mean?”
“The horns aren’t in Alfen Gulfadex.”
The companions, including Quill and his brethren, were speechless. “You mean we’ve traveled all this way, escaped torture and death, were separated and reunited, not to mention wandering halfway across the world, to be told we’re in the wrong place?” Dale was fuming.
“Calm down, Dale. I only said the horns weren’t in Alfen Gulfadex. Just as there is only one path through the northern mountains to our city, there is only one path from our city to the Twin Horns.”
“So we could only reach the horns once we reached Alfen Gulfadex,” Benny surmised.
Kolpak smiled, “Exactly.”
Dale was calmer now, but he was still antsy. “With all due respect, Kolpak, why are we just sitting here staring at some old …dwarf?”
“Why spit into the wind?” Kolpak winked at Dale.
Dale appeared to understand, and nodded respectively.
Benny, however, was still confused. “What does that have to do with the price of beans in Gant?” he asked.
“It means that we should be patient, and wait on advice from their shaman. If we run like pigs to the slaughter, trying to find the horns in the blink of an eye, we may miss hearing crucial information that could help us.” Dale stopped as the old dwarf in the center of the quilt stood up and held out his arms. What came from his mouth had Benny, as well as his friends, scratching their heads.
A string of grunts, clicks, and gulps came from the old dwarf, in what seemed more like a coughing fit than an actual language. Benny turned to Kolpak, and the frost dwarf laughed at the shared expression of the companions.
“He’s very old, and doesn’t know the common tongue. He only speaks the old language. He said that the Kudgels, while they know the way, have delayed in ascending the mountains, and are camped at the mouth of the pass.” Kolpak turned to the dwarf as more hacks, burps, and grunts came from the shaman. The old dwarf gestured towards the companions. “He says that they will not ascend the mountains for another week at least, from which it will take them roughly a week to get here, if they can survive the terrain of the mountains. They are not aware that the horns aren’t actually in this city.”
“Does he know their numbers?” Helena asked.
Kolpak made equally strange noises, directed at the old shaman. They exchanged noises, and Kolpak looked back at Helena. “Only a few hundred are camped at the mountain pass, and only a few dozen of those will be ascending the mountains. However, he senses two very strong, dark entities in the group which will be trekking here.”
“My mommy and bubba,” Benny said.
Kolpak was confused by the statement, but continued. “He said you can afford a few days rest and recuperation from your journey, during which we will prepare you for your journey to the other side of the Northern Mountains, where the Twin Horns are located. I am to be your guide.”
“There aren’t gonna be any…surprises…waiting for us when we get there, are there?” Burgundy asked.
“A surprise for you, my friends, but not
for me,” Kolpak said.
Burgundy seemed unpleased by the statement. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“A cyclops guards the horns…a REAL cyclops.”
“Well, what exactly is a REAL cyclops?” Burgundy asked. “I’ve heard dozens of legends regarding the cyclops, and not one of ‘em are the same as the next.”
“The cyclops is a giant, a terrible giant, set to guard the Twin Horns by the Protector himself. In the golden age of his race, it is said that even the Sky Titans feared them,” Kolpak said.
“Why did the Protector have the cyclops guard the horns?” Dale asked.
“It’s a long story, so I’ll start with the beginning. When the Protector came to what is now Pakk, it was a barren wasteland, void of life or any way to support life. So he created the skies and the oceans, the forests, jungles, mountains, savannas, and more. He created wildlife, every fowl of the air, every animal on land, and fish in the sea. Then, he created the first intelligent life to set foot on Pakk, which he called the Guardians. These beings, who would become the Sky Titans, were tremendous in size and knowledge…second only to the Protector himself. They were created to love and care for the races of intelligent beings which were created after them. However, over the centuries that followed, the original races which would become humans, dwarves, halflings, elves, giants, and countless others, slowly changed from the peaceful, innocent creation they were intended to be. They turned away from the Protector and the guidance of his Guardians, and at first, sought mere independence. Independence led to greed, malice, lust, and soon the Protector’s creation was almost unrecognizable.”
“Why didn’t this Protector just start over? Just wipe the slate clean, or make his creation mind him? Doesn’t make much sense to me,” Burgundy said.
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