by Han Yang
“We will fly your body to Damien,” the edrino said with eager nods.
The spell started to unwind as his vision and focus slipped.
“Fire it! Fire it before you die!”
With a roar his father would have been proud of, Freninick finished his spell.
The purple orb slammed into the blue shielding, and for a fleeting moment, he saw something miraculous. The gargoyles streamed out of their prison in the dozens with a cheer of gratitude.
A gentle, loving face hovered over him. At first, he thought it was his mother, but grayish horns told him an edrino had flown to his aid.
He tried to talk.
His vision darkened, and he knew no more.
CHAPTER 20
Wurm Labyrinth Floor 7
“The wagons are full, Sire,” Leetro said, smearing nasty gator juice onto his outfit. “Do you need help?”
“Thanks, but no thanks,” I said.
I tried to fasten my looted sword snuggly onto my waist. The damn thing was crafted for a troll and gave me all sorts of problems. The orc weapons were too big while the troll ones were too small.
Since I had given up my exploding staff, I wanted another weapon, and this left me wondering how Nick was doing.
“He needs orders,” Harrin prodded.
I glanced up at the big ogre with squinted eyes. “I wasn’t ignoring you, Leetro. I was contemplating if we should go deeper or back towards the surface. The day is proving tiresome, and these fake suns are killing my ability to tell time.”
“It is dark on the surface,” Leetro said.
“I figured as much with all my damn yawning.” I glanced at the ramp, seeing an endless stream of matogators racing onto the bridge. “The line is almost done, we’re loaded up, and it’s been six hours. I will need to build a church here soon to verify that Nick still lives. Something simple.”
“We can convert a wagon or two in a few hours,” Harrin said.
The ogre made me smile. Sure, I had ordered him to be courteous, but I could hear his jovial feelings seeping out. I think deep down he was just happy to be alive in any capacity. The rumors of a restored life struck a chord with him, and we needed father ogres for our children. Past transgressions aside.
“Where to, Boss?” Harrin asked.
I tapped a foot mulling over my options before making a decision. The area had been cleansed, savagely.
Eight thousand matogators stretched along the bridge with more waddling up the hill. When the conversion completed, I sent them into rivers, dunes, and elsewhere to kill anything else that lived. The whole time, I added more Zorta to my stockpile.
This adventure into the wurm realms was proving very lucrative. I had a feeling I should quit while ahead. I had poked the bear by sending Nick on a crazy mission, and runners were probably on their way to the core realms.
“Signal the wagons to turn. I’d rather avoid the satyrs, and we don’t know what is coming next. Best to brace in case we -”
A trumpet sounded a warning, and I tensed. My minions turned as one towards the end of the bridge on the far horizon.
Out slithered the most incredible creature I had ever seen. A wurm lord occupied the entirety of the tunnel’s width, and it just kept coming and coming. The tan scales reflected the bright light, and I fixated on the terrifying head.
The living members of my mercenary army shrieked in horror. I could rationalize the why. This being continued to grow as it reared towards the ceiling. I saw hooded mages clutching massive horns near the dragon-like head.
My arm hairs tingled, standing on end when the wurm lord exited the tunnel in its completion. A spiked tail threatened to lance forward.
“Fly the yellow,” I ordered, but Leetro was gone. I saw the little shit running for his life.
I tried to reach the flags in time. Static in the air raised my hair, the power increased until charges popped over and over from condensing of the wurm’s white magic.
A blinding light literally blinded me. For a fleeting second, I hovered off the platform.
KA-BOOM!
I never reached the damn flag.
A wave of power flung me off the command platform right as my fingers stretched to snatch it out of the pole holder.
I soared towards the bridge, tucking my arms and trying to be somewhat limp.
Crack!
I tumbled enough times to break a wrist and what felt like a dozen ribs. My head felt like it would explode as my ears rang.
I healed myself, the immense pain subsiding and the stars in my vision fading. The moment my senses returned, I began mentally ordering my minions to attack.
“Don’t bother. I’ve killed your siege engines, and you have lost. Best to surrender and hear out my terms,” the wurm lord said in a feminine voice.
I coughed, spitting out a mouthful of blood. When I peeled myself off the bridge, I spun in horror.
Every single living member of the Jeer Coalition lay dead on the bridge. Their frames sizzled from electrical burns, and their armor had melted into slag.
Harrin, well, the big ogre had half a foot left with the rest of him disintegrated. Oddly enough, most of my minions stood in confusion, awaiting orders. I saw a select few had been rendered into ash. Her control over her magic impressed me.
The damage she dealt varied, but why?
Knowing the wurm lord spoke the truth, I held my hands up in surrender. The bitter taste of defeat weighed heavily on my soul. No matter how upset I was, my rational brain said to be calm and collected, else I end up like poor Leetro and Harrin.
“I surrender, oh great and power wurm lord,” I said, holding palms up and open.
“Wonderful. I’ve heard you’re not an imbecile. Well, mostly. The Jeer coalition attacked our realm, and they were defeated by me, Fere’orn the Great. You are not from the Jeer Coalition, and we have no standing against you.
“Attack nothing on the way out. Oh, and,” all the orbs from my minions who she killed vanished, including Harrin, “all these held sensitive knowledge. Can’t give you an advantage.”
That nagging sensation to ask why she was letting me go begged to be scratched. I was so curious I almost blurted out… why. Instead, I nodded and ordered my minions to march toward the surface.
When I gave her my back, and I didn’t explode, I sighed in relief.
“You can raise these dead Jeer intruders. Since I wasn’t perfectly clear, I will be now. This is not a gift. I want the Jeer to hate what you did to their unfavored,” Fere’orn said.
I realized I might be playing into her hand. My options were clear; add more minions or refuse her. I clearly wasn’t in a position to say no to new minions.
I checked my availability, knowing the matogators had already forced one level up.
Name: Damien Moonguard
Race: Human
Affiliation: Nordan
Zorta: 541,083.009
Shared Zorta: 31,444.001
Nordan Score: 7,372,217
Ostriva Score: 1,553,774
Location: Moonguard City
Magic Type: Healer
Healer Level: 17
Magic Type 2: Necromancer
Necromancy Level: 14
Necromancer Minions: 41,227/43,000
Necromancer General Level: 8
Necromancer General Mana: 330/330
Shared Mana: 1300
Necromancer General Permissions: All
Fighting Level: Honed
Mana: 1200/1200
Mana Recharge: 14
Strength: 15
Stamina: 15
Dexterity: 15
Constitution: 18
Willpower: 18
Cultivation: 55
Intelligence: 43
Wisdom: 45
Charisma: 33
Tracking: 13
Endurance: 15
Perception: 21
Burst: 15
Reflex: 15
Healing: 15
Melee Combat: 15
Aim: 6
Hunger: 1
Thirst: 1
Aging: 59 years until death.
Necromancer Level 14 -} Necromancer Level 15 = 125,000 Zorta - (YES) - (NO) - Yes selected.
Necromancy Level: 15
Necromancer Minions: 41,227,788/50,000
I condensed a spell and let it erupt out of my being.
You have connected to 1557 orcs, 1422 goblins, 1209 trolls, 492 tigran, and 12 ogres worth 48,222.887 Zorta. You desire to claim all has been accepted. Confirm that you want to convert these beings into minions. (YES) - (NO) - Yes selected
“Fine,” I muttered.
The magic brewed angrily overhead, crackling with a furious intensity. The reapers fell among the dead, standing around without a task. The ghoulish hands feasted on the dead, groaning in ecstasy.
When I stole a peek over my shoulder, the wurm lord was gone. I realized that Nick had probably died. He must have if the wurm lord had reached me.
My feet dragged across the smooth stone with a heaviness weighing on my heart. I didn’t want him to die, and I suddenly found myself very alone.
I ordered my army to march for the surface, knowing I would probably get paid a visit if I disturbed the peace further. Not that anyone in my way would want to tussle with my fifteen thousand minions. Even without magic, ranged weapons, or siege engines, my army would decimate the higher floors.
Not a wurm lord, though. For once, I had faced true power and lost at the snap of a finger. She had killed my army with her lightning bolts, made me convert the dead, and left before I could even say two words.
If she had killed Nick, my magic must not have reached him. No minotaur popped up on my revival list.
That or she had blasted him into ash and stole his orb. Apparently, champions weren’t the only ones who could claim orbs from a distance.
With a sigh of happiness to be alive, I glanced at the ceiling, wondering how much fun getting to the surface would be. I’d have to do a whole lot of explaining. I doubted the excuse, ‘a wurm lord killed everyone’, would be casually accepted.
I always planned on having the justification that my actions were due to a betrayal. I’d explain it was an isolated turn of events and all the survivors would back me up. Except they were all killed in a flash.
Dark thoughts ran through my mind while I plotted my escape. The anger and hostility vanished when something magical happened.
The fake sun blotted out as if someone had flipped a light switch.
I figured the wurm lord had changed her mind, and I had died. I started to chant, knowing I could see if I controlled a minion. I paused when a voice talked from directly above me.
“I’m Marbern, the edrino you spoke with. You’re safe now.”
“Define safe,” I muttered. “What the hell happened to the light?”
“We changed the layout of this whole floor. You need to save your friend,” Marbern said. “Follow my voice. Good, good. Bend over and reach down.”
My hands reached out until I felt cool blood against my fingers. I connected to the body and was shocked when I read the prompt.
You have connected to Freninick Xastriban. Do you wish to revive this being? Warning you will need to wait another 17.34 hours until you can use this spell again. (YES) - (NO) - Yes selected.
A golden light revealed a hundred gargoyles hovering nearby. I gasped in shock. The stone creatures weren’t flapping their wings. As soon as the illuminations lit the space, it vanished.
“By the gods, Damien. That boom stick had a big bada boom,” Nick said with a groan.
“Your friends brought you here. Not sure how you got past the wurm lord,” I said.
“Yeah, it's deathly quiet. Where are we?” Nick asked.
“Uh, the edrino can answer. The group leader is -”
“I’m Marbern. Thank you for freeing us, Freninick. Your sacrifice is appreciated. We lack the magic to make it bright, but you can revive a dead illumination mage tomorrow. I say this because we must talk on the move for the next day or two. Our children will only be fooled by tricks for so long. If we get far enough away, we survive,” Marbern said.
“Uh… okay,” I said. “I need some answers real quick. What is going on, you promised a reward, where is the wurm lord, and what children?”
“Every minute counts. We have to flee. We will explain your reward later. The wurm lord is on our side, which will be explained later. Our children will be the ones hunting us as we manipulate the terrain to escape. Now please, we need to go,” Marbern said with desperation. “We owe you a great deal, but we can just leave you behind.”
“I would like a way out. Thank you,” I said.
I heard Nick scamper to his feet. “Which way?”
“The undead will carry you. Set them to follow me. The wagons will need to be abandoned, the horses will die from the pace we set and if you use skeletons to tow the wagons, it will slow us. Your pack has enough food for now,” Marbern said.
I ordered an ogre to pick me up. The largest of the bunch hoisted Nick.
“This is so embarrassing,” Nick said.
“No one can see the shame,” I said, accepting my fate when an ogre skeleton scooped me up. “What is the plan?”
“We run. We are going to meld the world to provide a path out of the labyrinth. The further we flee, the harder it will be to find our hidden tracks,” Marbern said.
“And the wurm lord I lost to?” I asked.
“Ah, we know her as Fere’orn. She has been an ally since before the cataclysm,” Marbern said.
The army assembled next to our location, ditching all our long term supplies. For the short term, we had jerky in a satchel that would last a week or two, assuming I didn’t revive too many people.
I had the ogre stick me in his rib cage. Before we started the long run, I mentally commanded minions to have benches removed from wagons to make a riding platform.
The sound of cracking wood echoed in the chamber we were in.
“Trying to make a comfy spot?” Marbern asked.
“Yeah, if I’m going to be in this ogre’s body for a week or two, I can’t be clinging to it the whole time,” I said. “Can you read minds?”
“Nope, logical deduction. I can fix your comfort issue. Go outside of the ribcage,” Marbern ordered. I did as suggested, clinging precariously without seeing a damn thing. “And done. You now have a thin platform and even a chair. We must go now. Follow my voice.”
I blindly traced my hands over the area until I found a recliner type chair. I sunk into the stone creation, and a moment later my ogre surged forward in a blistering run.
“This… Fere’orn. Please share the story since we have time,” I said.
“First I need to explain what an edrino is. At least our version. Without that knowledge, it will be hard to explain why a wurm lord didn’t turn you into ash,” Marbern said.
I replied, “If we are running home instead of using moths to fly us home, a long story would be wonderful.”
“Since ancient times, we’ve been a reclusive and limited species. When I say ancient, I mean it. At one point, we lived on a single continent that eventually became three over countless eons.
“We lived in the mountains, hiding in plain sight. Our patience knew no bounds, and when a wayward traveler or random group would venture near, we could always assume the figure of a random stone. I’ve even had an ogre sit on my back unknowingly,” Marbern said with a snicker.
“You can shapeshift?” Nick asked excitedly.
“Yes and no. It’s complicated. As with most magic and many species types, we’ve evolved. At one point, we were rock golems only without wings. We held no magic besides the ability to blend in. The edrino have never been… Well, we’ve always been pacifists.
“A defense mechanism to hide helped us survive. Time changed, the continents split, and we evolved. Not naturally, though, and -”
“Excuse me,” Nick said, assertively interjecting. “No one has spoken to an
edrino in, well, in forever. This information is vital, and I would ask kindly to seek clarity during the journey. Could you extrapolate?”
“I like him,” a female edrino said.
“Because he’s a scholar,” another edrino added in a nasally voice.
“Careful. If you get the tornado going, it’ll be non-stop chatter, and I’ll never get my story out,” Marbern said.
“This is a crowning achievement of three thousand years, let us enjoy it,” the female voice said.
Sure enough, the constant background chatter echoed in the dark cavern. Luckily, it roared just loud enough to cover the sound of fifteen-thousand skeletons running.
“Uh, going out on a limb here. A tornado is a group of edrino?” I asked
“Exactly correct, Damien. I’m Osawana, now, Nick, what was your question you had to so rudely interrupt to ask?”
Nick said, “Can we understand more than just ‘we evolved’?”
Osawana said, “This is a secret and part of our protection. If it didn’t jeopardize our lives, we might share it. Some secrets are best kept hidden.”
Nick sighed and replied, “I understand. Is that why you hid your parents not leaving from me?”
It took me a moment for me to realize Nick was talking to me. This said a lot. The edrino were a massive wealth of knowledge, and he sounded hurt.
“Uh, that is a working theory, but not verified. I didn’t lie if I don’t have all the facts, but I did go with what has been presented. I do have my doubts, but I actually don’t know. It just felt so contrived,” I admitted. “Surprised you care that much.”
“It’s been bugging me,” Nick said with a snort. “At least I got that scratch itched. Please carry on, Marbern.”
“The edrino relied on the mountains to hide. During the great split of the continent, we found ourselves separated from the other tribes we traded and conversed with. This was a disastrous blow to our mental stability. For ages, we couldn’t bring new life into the world, meaning every interaction mattered and suddenly there were less of us around.
“That was part of the evolution of both us and the planet. The next big transformation was when we grew wings, were able to have young, desired gems over iron, and became vulnerable. Time passed, we flourished but found our hunger for gems intensifying. A part of our society dug to supplement our desires.
