by Riker Kane
Lyra walked by my side. From the corner of my eye, I noticed her staring at me—more specifically, my cane.
“What’s that?” She turned her head sideways as if it would help her examine it better.
“It’s a wooden cane,” I said.
“I know it is but what else is it?”
“…What?”
“I mean, it’s like some sort of weapon, isn’t it? There’s a blade inside of it. Or maybe you can channel Mana from it.”
I chuckled softly to myself. “I’m sure I could crack someone’s skull if I swung it hard enough.”
“Are you telling me it’s just for walking?”
“Do people from Qashia not have disabilities?”
“It’s not that… But I saw you take out a whole band of raiders and now you need a cane to walk.”
I couldn’t help another chuckle. Even coming from another world was easier to explain to someone than telling them I’d become a god. That didn’t stop me from trying though.
“I get my power from this.” I tapped the center of my chest where the Life Rune pulsed underneath my shirt. “When I need something to draw on, that’s what I use to make myself stronger.”
“That’s fancy.” She whistled to herself though from the look in her eyes, I wasn’t sure she was fully convinced.
“How about you?” I asked. “I see a bow but I don’t see a quiver or any arrows. Do you just hit people over the head with it?”
“Don’t laugh.” She pointed an index finger at me to stop me from chuckling again. “This thing can lump you up real good.”
“It looks like it.”
Lyra unharnessed the bow from over her shoulder and held it out in front of her. “It’s pure silver. Tempered by the finest blacksmiths back in Enaba. That’s the town where I was from before we had to come here. And seeing as how that blacksmith isn’t around anymore, getting another bow like this won’t be possible.”
“I’m sorry about what happened—”
“Don’t apologize for something you had nothing to do with. I’ve still got the bow and I plan on using it to keep living. Speaking of which…”
Lyra looked out toward the horizon. On the other side of the open plains, I saw a swirl of black and purple energy form in the air. A few seconds later, a flash of white light was followed by beasts beginning to spill out. Horses. Bears. Tigers. Boars. I couldn’t tell exactly what type of four-legged creature was coming toward us. Not that it mattered.
“Shadows,” I said. “They know we’re here.”
“How about a little demonstration?” Lyra held her bow in front of her.
Zafina and Rhiannon moved closer, both of them curious to see what she would do.
I stared down the approaching pack and saw they were gray wolves. They snarled loud enough to drown out the sound of their paws ripping through the grass. There were more than ten of them, each one frothing in anticipation of sinking their teeth into me.
But what was more curious was Lyra, who pulled back on her string.
“There’s not even an arrow. What are you firing—”
Before I could finish, blue mist began to form around her. It kept gathering until taking the shape of an arrow between the bow and string. In an instant, she’d nocked an arrow with a frosty sheen on it.
The arrow bulleted toward one of the wolves. It pierced through its head clean, sending out a splatter of blood before it exploded into Mana orbs.
“I can channel Mana directly.” Lyra summoned another arrow, this one fiery red and burning with an intense blaze. I could feel the heat from it against my face though the fire didn’t burn her hands or bow. I noticed Lyra’s eyes had also changed, shifting into the same red as her arrow.
She let loose with the arrow and ignited another wolf.
“Every element.” Her eyes turned to a darker shade of gray that matched the jagged stone arrow in her grip. Instead of aiming it at the wolves, she pointed it at the grass in front of them. The arrow smashed into the ground and sent the wolves scattering left and right.
“How about a wind arrow then?” I said with a smirk.
“Don’t get cute with me.” She winked then summoned another ice arrow. “Now… Do you plan on letting me beat the rest of the wolves or are you going to help me? Because drawing these arrows does drain my endurance.”
“Right… Zafina.”
The Mana Seer bowed her head and summoned a red fireball to send right at the remainder of the pack. I’d trained with Zafina over the past year and she’d grown considerably stronger. Her spells had grown in strength and now a single fireball was big enough to take out five wolves at once, though she could have handled more.
The Shadows cried out in pain before they were engulfed completely. Their howls were cut off before they exploded into Mana.
The energy cloud in the air faded and the threat was over before they even got near us.
I walked over to the Mana orbs and collected them while the others stood next to me. “I feel strong already,” I said. “But Cybil said I can still grow stronger. We should try to collect as much Mana as we can, even for just the sake of the cannon.”
“You might get another chance soon.” Rhiannon got my attention.
I looked out to the west and saw something heading toward us. Men on horseback kicked up the grass and dirt as they charged for us.
Zafina readied a fireball in her palm while Rhiannon charged her blade.
Lyra nocked an ice arrow and pointed it at the approaching raiders.
“Wait!” one of them screamed.
I squinted in confusion. “It sounded like he just said ‘wait.’ I must be hearing things—”
“Wait! Hold your fire!” The voice was clearer.
“Virgil?” Rhiannon said.
About a dozen raiders headed right toward us. Against my better judgment, I put my hand up. “Lower your weapons.”
“They’re raiders,” Lyra said. “We can’t just let them run us over—”
“Lower your weapons.”
Lyra let out a frustrated sigh and her arrow evaporated as she lowered her bow. Rhiannon and Zafina stood by my sides as the men and women on their horses neared.
They slowed as they neared before coming to a full stop.
“There he is,” the lead man announced before quickly hopping off his horse. “The man I’ve been looking for.”
He was a blond man. If the tone of his deep voice wasn’t cocky as hell, his face certainly looked it. His short hair was smoothed down over his head like he was too lazy to cut it or style it. He was dressed in the same tunics and pants I’d seen from those in Haven, though they were a little dirtier.
He approached me with the kind of smile a car salesman would have. Despite living out in the Sol Lands, his teeth were as big and bright as anybody’s.
“It’s good to meet you.” He stuck his hand out for me to shake. “I’m Balec.”
I raised an eyebrow then turned to Lyra for some guidance but she was just as confused as I was.
I shrugged without shaking his hand. “Balec?”
“That’s right. Balec and the Golden Arcs.”
I looked at the men and women who’d accompanied him. It took me a few seconds to realize the one thing they all had in common: they were all blond. Or maybe that was just a coincidence. Whatever it was, they didn’t look as threatening or threatened as the first raiders I ran into.
Balec wasn’t a big man, about half-a-foot shorter than me, so I wasn’t intimidated by him. But he still carried himself like someone taller. There was no point in trying to figure him out or keep my name from him.
“…Virgil,” I said as I took his name.
He shook my hand firmly like he was trying to take my arm off. “Ah! The man has a name.”
“You said you were looking for him,” Rhiannon said.
“That’s right. Word spreads quickly across the plains. A stranger from another land butchered a group of raiders to the west.”
; “Uh, ‘butchered’ is kind of a strong word,” I said.
“Whatever it is, you know how to handle yourself. I assume someone from a foreign land wouldn’t come here to align himself with the Nobles or the Warriors—”
“And I suppose you want him to help you out?” Lyra crossed her arms. She clenched her jaw, staring hard at him with a skeptical eye. That wasn’t enough to wipe off the confident smile from Balec’s face.
“Not help me out,” he said. “Help all of us.”
“What do you want?” I asked.
“I’m sure you know there are many raider groups on the plains. Scattered in every direction, they are. It’s a shame. We’re all from Qashia yet we’ve already divided ourselves.”
“You don’t seem too unhappy about it.”
“I’m optimistic. And the truth is, I know your arrival means something. Perhaps you can help put an end to the hostilities.”
“Okay,” I said with a nod. “Do you want me to go around beating up all of the raiders to knock some sense into them?”
“If it comes to that. But you might only have to do it for one or two groups for them to get the message while I handle the rest. What do you think?”
Balec gave me a straight-forward proposal. Of course, there was always a chance he was up to something—I’d just met him and the guy was as shifty as a door-to-door salesman.
“I would not advise against it,” Zafina said. “Though, this is our secondary cause. Our priority remains getting resources from the mountains—”
“The mountains!” Balec exclaimed. “Perfect. Nameno and his group make camp at the base of the mountains. You can speak to him there.”
“Why does this feel like a trap?” Lyra said.
“You can think that if you want, but if you want to ascend the mountains, the only scalable path is through Nameno’s camp.”
Everything seemed to be working out perfectly for Balec. I sighed softly, struggling to avoid a reason to refuse him.
“Just tell me this,” I said. “What’s in it for you?”
“You’re skeptical,” he said.
“I have every reason to be.”
He shrugged then looked out toward the plains. “My people have only been here for a few months. The chaos from the destruction of Qashia has followed us. If there is a chance we might escape it, I would take it. Besides, the word of what you did with the raiders has spread, as I told you before. I have no interest in picking a fight until I have to.”
Balec’s reasoning was so sensible, it seemed too good to be true. The others were in agreement with me. Even Lyra, despite the objection on her face, seemed torn on what to do.
“Okay,” I said with a nod. “I’ll go talk to this Nameno. Is there anything I should know about him?”
“Hmm…” Balec scratched his square chin as he thought about it. “He’s a strong man. Be prepared for a fight.”
I rolled my eyes as soon as he said it. “Of course.”
9: The Nameno Assignment
The wide-open plains made way for more wolves from Pandora to attack us. The Shadows proved to be nothing more than a minor inconvenience. I didn’t mind the random battles, since it gave me a chance to gather some extra Mana. No doubt I’d probably need it with what I was heading into.
The walk with the three ladies was peaceful enough, with all of them staying quiet to conserve their strength. Even with simple battles, being out in the sun was enough to drain even a Battle God if you did it long enough.
But with every step closer we got to the grassy green mountains in the distance, the more I could see the destination blocking us.
A wooden gate about ten-feet high had been constructed right at the only mountain pass. It looked to be about half-a-mile long with no way around it except for climbing the steep rocks themselves. Outside of the gate, a couple of men stood guard.
“That must be Nameno’s camp,” I said. “Balec said to prepare for a fight but keep your weapons down. If this Nameno character can rally people to fight for him, he has to be a little bit rational.”
I didn’t completely believe what I was saying but I stayed optimistic.
As I approached the gates, I could see the smoke from fires burning behind them. The sound of conversations was loud enough, there was no doubt a big crowd was there.
The two men standing guard weren’t in a chatty mood though. They were dressed in nothing but loincloths. Their physiques were lean though defined, accentuated by their tan skin. Hunting on the plains probably made them stronger.
I was a dozen meters away from them when they pointed iron swords at me. Their blades had a dull shine but the things were sharp enough.
The ladies did as they were told and remained calm as I approached with my hands up.
“Who are you?” one of the men barked.
“My name is Virgil. These are my companions, Rhiannon, Zafina, and Lyra. We want to speak to Nameno.”
“What business do you have with Nameno? Speak quickly or I’ll cut out your tongue.”
“You aren’t even giving me a chance to respond…” I sighed. “Anyway, I need to go into the mountains. And this is the only clear mountain pass I can walk through.”
“What business do you have in the mountains?”
“What is this? Twenty questions?”
Both men took another step to me, raising their weapons another inch.
“Right, right, right,” I said, my hands still up. “I need to gather resources—materials for something I’m building.”
“And what are you building?”
They’d finally asked a question that pertained to them. “Something that will save all of you from certain death.”
I couldn’t have been more serious than that. Of course, it was a vague and dramatic answer, so they weren’t so quick to believe me. They kept their skeptical glares on me as they muttered to one another.
“What do you think we should do?”
“Perhaps we should kill him. There is no need to disturb Nameno.”
“There are three females. Nameno could do without the blond pretty boy but the others may provide useful company.”
“Blond pretty boy?” I raised an eyebrow. I would’ve been offended if Lyra wasn’t giggling so hard next to me.
Rhiannon suddenly stepped forward, making the two guards raise their weapons again. “You serve Nameno,” she spoke with a stern voice. “He is your leader. If that is true, then let him decide what will be done with us.”
“Why should Nameno waste his time with you?”
“If something happens to us and we are telling the truth, Nameno will be unhappy. Would it not be best to take caution?”
The two men grumbled. They looked to one another before one of them motioned with his head.
“Come with me. And don’t try anything.”
One of the guards pushed the wooden gate, its heavy weight taking a few seconds to open completely. When the gate opened, I saw the sprawling grassland behind it.
Huts not unlike Haven were scattered in every direction. Small fires burned as they cooked the beasts from the open prairie. Men dressed like the guards relaxed in the grass as they enjoyed the company of the women around them. The women’s outfits were nearly as revealing, with only a small brown linen to cover their chests. There weren’t many children around, which wasn’t an indictment either way. From what I could tell, everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves.
“This way!” the guard interrupted my viewing of the raiders.
As we walked by the huts, some of the raiders took notice of me. They glanced at me with a curious eye though remained lounging on their backs and in their seats.
We headed through the sprawling space until reaching an open grass clearing at the center. In front of me, there was a lone hut larger than all of the others.
“Wait here!” the guard ordered as he disappeared within the hut.
“Everybody seems to be having a good time,” I said. “This Nameno fella looks like
he runs a tight ship.”
“They are raiders,” Lyra said. “Everything they are enjoying is at the cost of another group. We are all from Qashia. I see no reason why Nameno wouldn’t share his bounty.”
“Big fish in a small pond maybe. Then again, there are a lot more people than I was expecting from a raider group.”
Before I could speculate what Nameno’s deal was, the guard emerged from the hut. Behind him, a man a foot-taller followed. The guy was tall enough it was the first thing I noticed. Then it was how tan and muscular he was, like some overgrown bodybuilder you’d find at the gym. His hair was long and black, shimmering with a shine that made me wonder if they had shampoo around these parts. His goatee was trimmed neatly, so they must’ve had a barber around here, too. He was dressed in nothing but a loincloth like all the others. When you were as big as him, I guess you had to show yourself off like that.
He was accompanied by a thin blond woman by his side. She would’ve looked pale and petite even without the hulking man in front of her. She brushed her long wavy hair over her shoulder, eying me with an arched eyebrow. But even a good-looking blond wasn’t enough to distract me from the big man walking toward me menacingly.
His eyes narrowed as he stepped closer. And when he did, the people around us slowly began to quiet their conversation.
“You are Virgil,” he said with a baritone voice.
“And you must Nameno.”
“My guard says you have urgent business. I will be the judge of that.”
“Right… It’s not too complicated. The Shadows from Pandora—”
“Shadows from Pandora?” He paused in contemplation then nodded in understanding. “The beasts from the other world.”
“Same ones. They’ve set up camp in an eastern fortress.”
“I have sensed their presence, the ones who devastated Qashia. During the day, the darkness lingers in the clouds.”
“The aura from their fortress. Whatever they’re doing inside of it, it’s bad news for all of us. I know how to break through that barrier. Once we’re inside, I can stop them. But to do that, I need resources in the mountains, so I’m asking you for passage.”
