`I don't know. I really don't.'
`Come along, let's go to my stronghold. I will examine your amulet and we'll see what's so special about it.'
*
Tano greets us as we step through the Portal and enter my stronghold.
`Master, you are early!' he says. `Oh, and you've brought a charming guest!'
`Leave her alone, Tano. She's not in a flirting mood.'
`I was just admiring her beauty.' he says, and then turns to Flora. `You understand me, don't you, sweetheart?'
Flora looks to me with an annoyed look on her face.
`Just leave her alone.' I tell Tano. `Prepare the laboratory, will you? I need to examine something there.'
`Yes, Master...' he says, and he teleports away.
`That familiar of yours is weird.'
`Yeah, what did you expect from a talking cat? Come, let's walk to the lab. By the time we get there, Tano will have it ready.'
I lead Flora across the various corridors of my extraplanar stronghold, and we chat about the amulet.
`So, what does this thing do again?' I ask her.
`It creates a magical darkness around the bearer. Everyone is totally blind in this darkness, only the bearer of the amulet can see. It's very useful in battle when facing overwhelming odds. Jason called it the Amulet of Darkness.'
`I suppose that fits the description... What else did he say about it?'
`Nothing. Just that he found it in Kh'Tal.'
`I see. Well, we'll soon find out more. Here we are!'
We arrive at the laboratory. I step inside, and Flora follows me. Tano is still here, finishing the final preparations.
`There you are Master! The laboratory is ready for you!' he says.
`Thanks. Stick around, will you? I may need some help.'
`Yes, Master.' he says, and he jumps up to one of the tables and lays on his side, stares at Flora, and starts purring.
That cat always thinks with his dick...
`Alright, Flora, hand me the amulet.'
She gives it to me, and only now do I get a chance to examine it in detail.
It is a large, round, silver amulet, with a black gem in its middle. The gem has a smooth surface, looking like a three-sided pyramid. Or...
Or like one half of a perfect cube standing on one of its corners...
Wait a motherfucking minute here...
`The Amulet of Darkness, you say?' I ask of Flora. She nods.
`Did you ever try to remove the gem from the silver?' I ask.
`No. Why?'
`I'm gonna try that now. If I'm right, this little trinket is a Hell of a lot more powerful than you or Jason ever thought...'
*
After long hours of experimentation and ceaseless swearing, I finally manage to remove the fucking gem from the silver casing.
`Ah, finally! It's about motherfucking time! I was right! I knew it could be removed...'
`If you break it...' says Flora.
`Yeah, yeah, you told me that after every attempt I made at removing the gem. I got the message...'
`Good.'
`Now let's see...'
The gem is indeed perfect cube shaped, only half of it was visible before. It took some tricky magic to remove it from the silver. But it's in my hand now...
I look at it and can barely believe my eyes. Not to mention the magic aura I sense around it. It has a very strong magical essence inside of it. The silver casing somehow blocked this, screened it. But now that it's outside, I can very much sense it.
`Unbelievable... Un-motherfucking-believable...'
`What's so special about it?' asks Flora.
`I'm not sure yet, but almost... Almost...'
`What?'
`It's the Shadestone! I'll be damned, it's the motherfucking Shadestone!'
`The what?'
`A legendary item. Created ages ago... Tell me, do you know what a power stone is?'
`No.'
`A power stone is an object that can store concentrated magical energy, which can be released and used at a chosen time, often to recharge a wand, or cast a very difficult spell, or perform a magical experiment. Power stones can be charged with either arcane or black magic energy. This gem here... This is something similar, but it doesn't store magical energy. It holds something better! Legend has it, that there is a small fraction of the very essence of the Shadowland encased within this stone!'
`What is the Shadowland?'
`It's one of the Spiritual Planes. It is the world that black magic energy is drawn from. This stone has a small piece of its essence within! At least that's what the legends say...'
`Why is this a big deal?'
`How can you ask that?! This is one of the most coveted items in the Multiverse! It has untold power. That field of darkness that you were able to create with the amulet is nothing compared to everything else that this stone can do...'
`Then that explains why someone wants it badly.'
`Yes. Whoever wants it, knows that the Shadestone is encased within the amulet.'
`Alright, put the stone back in the casing and give me the amulet back!'
`Let me try something first. To test whether it is indeed the Shadestone or not.'
`Fine, do it.' she says with a sigh.
I place the stone on one of the tables, and place a glass half-sphere over it. Then I begin casting some spells on it.
*
`Very interesting!' I exclaim, after the third spell.
`What?' asks Flora.
`There's a Hell of a lot... no, a fucking lot... no, an assload... no a shitload... no, a motherfucking shitload of Shadowland essence in this thing!'
`Then you are certain it's the... What did you call it?'
`Shadestone... Yes, I'm almost certain now. Let me try one last thing!'
I focus on the stone and begin casting another spell. Suddenly, I hear a loud whistling sound. For a moment, I look away from the stone, and glance at Tano.
`What the fuck is that?'
Before he could reply, I see the stone begin to glow from the corner of my eye. I turn back towards it, and see that it is about to release an uncontrolled surge of magical energy...
`Oh fuck!' I exclaim, and remove the glass cover, then quickly begin creating a small stasis field. A moment later, a small reddish sphere is emitted from the stone, and it immediately begins to grow. It is fired upwards, and I quickly direct it to the left of me, and activate the previously prepared stasis field. A moment later, the expanding ball of fire stops in mid air, encased within a green sphere.
`That was close... That was fucking close!'
`What happened?' asks Flora.
`I don't know. I didn't focus on the stone for a second, when I heard that whistling sound. It distracted me. Then, this fireball appeared... If I hadn't sealed it up like this, it would have blown right into our faces...'
`What is this whistling sound?'
`Tano? What the fuck is this?'
`It's the intrusion warning, Master.' says Tano. `You remember, don't you?'
`That sounds like this?' I ask him.
`Don't you remember?'
`It was long ago that we installed it, and I never heard it active.'
`Yes Master, this is the first time it was triggered.'
`Fuck! What is going on? Quick, show me an image of the Gateway in Coldrock!'
`Yes, Master!' says Tano, and he conjures a magical image of the area around the Gateway onto the wall.
`What the fuck?!' I exclaim, as I see the image. The rubble covering the trap door leading to the cellar is gone. The trap door is also gone, as is the whole fucking roof of the cellar housing the Gateway! Somebody tore it open, and now the Gateway is under the clear sky... There are numerous large figures before the Gateway. A dozen or so huge figures, at least ten feet tall, and looking like clay statues with roots of various plants standing out of their bodies.
`What are those things?' asks Flora.
`Earth elementals...' I te
ll her, slowly. `This is Grenshaur's doing...'
`I don't see him.'
`He's out of sight, but he can't be far...'
`How the Hell can he have elementals doing his bidding?'
`Well, that's a long story. In short, the motherfucker once got his hands on a whole tower full of wizard's tools. He had a contract to hunt down the owner. He convinced the mage that if he gave him all the magic activation words to his wands and other magic items, he'd let him live. The idiot mage told him everything. Then, Grenshaur killed him, gathered the bounty, and made the mage's tower his new home.'
`Son of a bitch... That's why he can teleport!'
`Yes. He has a ring that allows him to teleport anywhere he wants from the tower, and back. If he's in trouble, he just uses the ring and he's back in the safety of his tower.'
`What about those elementals?'
`He has a limited supply of summoning wands. He can use them to summon any kind of elemental creature that he wants, if needed. But he very rarely uses those wands, he doesn't have a lot of supplies.'
`Compared to that lack of supplies, he sure didn't spare the charges here. There's a dozen of them...'
`Yes... They are trying to pry open the Gateway.'
`Can they?'
`No. Well, they could if I left them an hour to do it, but I certainly won't do that... Don't worry. I've got a plan!'
`What are you gonna do? Go out there and kill them?'
I glance at the ball of fire in the stasis field.
`I'll do something better than that...'
*
`Watch this!' I exclaim, as I conjure a small Portal just in front of the stasis field.
`What are you up to?' asks Flora, just as I telekinetically grab the stasis field with the fireball inside, and start moving it towards the Portal.
`This!' I reply, as I push it through the Portal.
I close the Portal behind it and turn towards the magical image of the area around the Gateway.
`There, right over there, see?' I tell Flora, as I point towards a small spot just above the earth elementals. `See that green sphere with the fireball inside?'
`Yes... You're going to release that fireball, aren't you?'
`Damn right! Damn fucking right!'
`Do you think a fireball will destroy all these elementals?'
`That's no ordinary fireball. It's a fireball created by an uncontrolled burst of raw magical energy. Energy that was released from the Shadestone. It's gonna blow big. Just watch... A few more seconds, and... there! Ka-boom!'
The stasis field vanishes, and the ball of fire begins to expand. A fraction of a second is all it takes, and the entire area seen through Tano's magical image is engulfed in flames.
`Tano, be so kind and zoom out!'
`Yes, Master.' replies Tano, and he shows us a bird's eye view of the area around the Gateway. From this far up, all we see is a ball of fire blowing up at the Gateway, and steadily expanding.
The warning whistle abruptly stops, signaling us that the elementals are no longer trying to force the Gateway open.
`Ha! That'll teach them!'
As I admire the destruction that the fireball is causing, I slowly begin thinking about how the fireball was conjured. The Shadestone is filled with the essence of the Shadowland. I focused on it, tried to tap a fraction of its power, to see what it can do. I broke my concentration for but a second, and a surge of raw magical energy erupted from the stone. The Shadestone is an insanely powerful object, and manipulating it requires the utmost care and precision. The slightest mistake can result in dire consequences, it would seem...
`Master...' says Tano. `I think there is a problem...'
`What?' I ask absently, still thinking about the stone's legend-defying power.
`The fireball is still growing. It's almost at Coldrock.'
`What the fuck?!'
`I'll zoom out a bit more, Master!' says Tano, and he changes the view. Now I can see Coldrock as well. The fire is almost there...
`The town is finished...' says Flora in mild shock.
`No.' I reply. `Not yet. There is a special protection field around the town. I created it to protect it against massive magical attacks, in case dragons would ever attack the town. That will stop the fire. Watch!'
As the fire reaches the border of Coldrock, a gigantic, rune-inscribed transparent semi-sphere appears around the town. The magical protection shield has been conjured by the warding glyphs I cast so many years ago.
`There, you see? No problem!'
`Amazing...' she says. `You made this against dragons?'
`Yeah.'
`Why would dragons attack this place?'
`Believe me, you don't wanna know... Anyway, what matters is that this dome will protect Coldrock from the fire just fine. Trust me, I know what I'm doing...'
`Master...' says Tano. `I don't think it will last long. A minute, maybe two, but no more.'
`The fire?' I ask.
`No. The shield...'
`Fuuuuuuuuuuck!'
I turn away from the magical image and without hesitation I open a Portal.
`What are you going to do?' asks Flora. I don't reply. I step through the Portal.
*
I arrive in the center of town, not far from the tavern. The damn troll corpses are still all over the place. I evade them as best I can, and run towards the tavern building. Errak is standing right in front of the tavern and staring up at the flames. They have completely enveloped the shield, and now Coldrock is covered by a dome of fire. Once the shield goes down, the town will be scorched...
`Hey, Zack!' says Errak, laughing. `Check that out! Ain't it just awesome?'
`Shut up and get everyone inside the tavern, right fucking now!' I tell him.
`Why?'
`Just do what I fucking told you! You have one fucking minute! Move!'
`Why? I don't get it, Zack...'
`Just do it, fuck you!' I shout at him, and then I turn my back on the tavern door and look up. I raise my hands and begin casting the spell.
Slowly I conjure another protective shield, but one that's much smaller in radius than the one around the town. This one only protects the tavern building, but in exchange it is somewhat stronger...
Roughly half a minute later, the shield is conjured.
I look around, and see that Errak is finally ordering everyone into the tavern.
`Move your lazy asses you sorry sons of bitches! Do you wanna get fried? Move it!' he shouts, and everybody rushes into the tavern. Looks like Errak finally understood the problem.
`Get everyone into the concert hall. That's the safest.' I tell him.
`What about you?'
I look back up at the fire.
`I'm gonna make sure the tavern doesn't burn down. I'm not gonna let it burn! I'm gonna stop this motherfucking fire, even if it's the last motherfucking thing I ever do!'
`We'll miss you, Zack!' he says, and he runs into the tavern after the others.
Well, fuck you.
I face the fire and prepare for the worst. Seconds later, the outer shield collapses, and the fire drops onto the newly conjured inner shield. I can already see how it weakens...
I point my palms towards the shield and begin channeling magical energy into it, re-enforcing it as much as I can.
The fire just won't cease, and the damn shield is just getting weaker. I continue to tap more and more magical energy into it, and slowly I feel that it won't be enough. I can tap all the magical power that I have into it, sooner or later it will collapse.
The fire keeps coming, and I have to maintain the shield. I'm starting to feel weak, and my heart starts to beat fast. I scream aloud as I force all the magical power I have out of myself and into the shield. The fire keeps burning and burning, and...
Suddenly I see it starting to fade away. A few seconds pass, and the fire vanishes from the surface of the shield. A half minute later, it vanishes completely. I see flames in the distance, but the fire dome is
gone. The danger has passed.
I lower my arms and start panting. It's hard to breath, fuck it...
`There... So much for... the fucking... fire...'
I drop to the ground, and darkness falls upon me.
*
I awake to a feeling of cold water against the skin on my face. I quickly sit up.
`What the fuck?!'
I look around. I am in the tavern, with some of the orcs standing all around me. Errak and Pinky are standing right there, too. Pinky has a large empty bucket in his hand.
`See? I told you he was alive.' he says to the others.
I stand up and stare at him in anger.
`Did you just fucking pour water on me?!'
`Sorry, Zack, but you looked like you were fucking dead. Hey, Errak was about to start digging you a grave.'
`That's not true!' says Errak indignantly. `I knew well that he was alive. He's a badass like you and me. Badasses die hard!'
`Did you just fucking pour water on me?!' I ask again.
`Well, yeah!' says Pinky. I nod, and then I rip the bucket out of his hand.
I toss it in the air, and with a little magic I hover it above Pinky's head. He glances up just in time to see it coming down on his head.
`Hey, what the fucking Hell?!' he exclaims after his head is buried in the bucket. `Get it off me, man!'
`Do it yourself! Next time, think twice before you pour a bucketful of water in my motherfucking face!' I tell him. I slowly start walking towards the door. As I walk past the orcs of the town, I can't help but notice the way everyone's looking at me. With... admiration? Admiration? In their eyes? What, is the fucking world coming to an end?
`What?' I ask them.
`Hey, Zack, you saved the town! Well, a part of it anyway.' says Errak.
`Yeah, yeah. Excuse me if I didn't want to have to look for another place to eat...' I tell him, and I kick the door open and walk outside. I stop after a few steps. I look around and see that all of Coldrock lay in ash and ruin. Everything was destroyed, except for the tavern building. Well, at least the troll corpses are ash now, fuck 'em! Yeah, this sure was a big funeral pyre, haha!
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