by C. J. Strong
“Come on, let’s go.”
“We can’t even see a thing,” Uriella explained before Andrum pulled out the book he had recently found.
“This will show us the way, come on.”
With the fog dissipating in an aura around the book, the two searched and searched calling out Yuralia’s name. Eventually the magik within the tome lead them to the entrance of the Eternal Lands, but Andrum was disappointed. He couldn’t leave until he found Yuralia, but he also didn’t know how much longer Uriella could last in the Eternal Lands without her life force draining away.
“This is it,” Uriella said as she stuck her hand through to the other side.
“I know… but—“ Andrum said. “We can’t just leave her here!”
“I know it seems wrong Andrum, but we must return to Ulteria. Who knows how well our warriors have been fairing against the Tilturians without most of them having their powers.”
“None of that matters without her,” Andrum said as his heart weighed heavy. Looking at the book and then back at Uriella, he had an idea. I know I promised Xurion I wouldn’t but I don’t see any other way… he thought as he opened the book. Yuralia had tried conjuring in the Eternal Lands before, but this book was no ordinary conjuring book.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“There is no other option,” Andrum said as the book guided him to the right page. “What harm could it do to just use it one time!?”
With the book in his hand, he smeared the magik ink, erasing some of it and began to change the text entry. He started to write a few words in with his fingers and after a few scribbles he slammed the book shut. “That ought to do it!”
A loud bark came from deep within the fog and the both of them turned. Blasting through the fog, a golden retriever came running through with a harness around him. Not far behind holding the leash was Yuralia who was being pulled by the dog.
“Yuralia!” Andrum and Uriella shouted as they came closer.
“Over here,” they said as she waved at them.
Seconds later they met hugging one another. “I finally found you,” Yuralia said as she squeezed them both tightly. “Andrum… I know it’s felt like an eternity but you look—“
“Different? I know. I’ve changed a lot since we last met,” Andrum said.
“I sure guess so,” she said as they released and she looked him up and down.
“…and who is this little guy?” Uriella said as she bent down and held out her hand to the dog. He sat down in front of her and then put his paw out while panting.
“I wouldn’t have found you guys without his help. He must’ve accidentally wondered into the Eternal Lands and got lost just like me.”
“How cute! What is his name?” Uriella asked as she turned the tag on his collar.
“Benry I guess, or at least that’s what it says,” Yuralia answered.
“What exactly did you write in that new book of yours anyway Andrum?” Uriella said.
“Oh… Nothing. I’m just glad we found each other again.” Andrum said and smiled. I think it’s best that I don’t tell them, at least not until after I have restored my people’s powers.
“So you have your conjuring abilities back again?” Yuralia asked.
“Something like that. With the powers that I now possess, I’ll be able to return them to my people.”
“Then let’s head back to the city,” Uriella said as her old face crinkled a smile out.
“We will, but there is someone we must find first,” Andrum said as he travelled through the fog and entered the Endless Plains and the others followed.
Chapter 12
It took a few months, but Gallagher had finally settled in and found his place in the village. He accepted the fact that he was a slave, and running away would be pointless. Besides, he kind of liked the people that he saw every day. Being a slave in this world wasn’t nearly as bad as being a runaway back on Earth. At least here, in the village that Valdar called Tindu, he would get fed 3 meals a day and didn’t have to worry much about criminals or rapists at night. Having a fixed schedule was one of the best feelings for Gallagher, he would wake up in the early mornings with Omna, and prepare breakfast for the troops. After which Omna would continue her chores and Gally would do battle against Valden, Babah, Moldur and sometimes even Valdar himself. Occasionally Moldur would bring his pet Piggles around but he wasn’t much help. The score was 49-47-23 with Gallagher barely in the lead followed by Moldur in free-for-all fights. Although it was every man, child, and bear for himself, Gallagher and Valden occasionally teamed up as they were both outweighed by a lot.
“This is it, will Gallagher the White be the first to reach his 50th win?” Valdar announced in the courtyard as the three kids prepared for battle. Gallagher didn’t know how or why he had won so many matches. Maybe because of the way he was raised, or maybe because he had such a natural talent for fighting. The one thing that he knew for sure was that he enjoyed it.
“I’ve got this,” Gallagher told the others as he flexed his muscles.
“You’ve all got into pretty good shape these past few months,” Valdar said.
“Even Moldur has lost some rolls,” Valden said as he pet his growing bear cub.
“I sure have. Even Piggles has cut down on the bacon,” Moldur said as his pig oinked.
“That’s still disgusting that you actually feed your pig bacon,” Gally said as he stretched a bit.
Just before the round could begin, a bloody Tilturian soldier came stumbling in to the village. “I… I need to speak to Valdar,” he yelled before collapsing.
Everyone rushed from the courtyard to the man’s aid but his wounds were too grave to heal.
“Zormites,” he continued as the group came to him. “Coming from… Ulteria.”
“Not only are we defending attacks coming from the north but now this?!” Valdar said as he knelt down near the soldier.
This was one of the first times Gallagher had ever heard of Zormites or Ulteria, and was lost yet again. Just when he was beginning to feel like he had this world figured out, he was wrong. As the man took his last breath, Galllagher noticed red burn marks crept up his neck, eventually encompassing his whole body. “Burn marks?” Gallagher asked.
“Magik burn marks, everybody get back!” Valdar said as he picked his son and bear up and ran back towards the courtyard.
Gallagher and Moldur looked to each other and nodded as they sprinted away. Without any notice, as the last of the soldiers body was devoured by the burn, he glowed a magnificent red and then exploded into a thousand pieces.
Simply amazing. Amazingly disgusting, but still, Gallagher was both horrified and excited by what had transpired. Even he had come to realize that this was out of the ordinary, “What could have possibly caused this?” he said as Omna came out from a nearby hut.
“It was a message from Zorm the Demon Lord and his armies,” Valdar said as he unshielded Valden from the explosion.
“But I thought we were only battling him on the northern front?” Moldur asked as he hugged his pig.
“It appears his evil is ever reaching I’m afraid,” Valdar explained. “This soldier seemed to have been stationed at Stonewall Point, which means that we are now stuck in between two battlefronts.”
“My father is stationed there…” Moldur said.
“I know he is,” Valdar said as he walked over to the teen.
“Let’s go see what’s going on down there then,” Gallagher said with a peaked interest.
“I wouldn’t even take a band of my best warriors to that place as it stands right now,” Valdar said.
Gallagher was unfazed by this however, and just smiled at Moldur. Regardless of if Valdar approves or not, Gallagher wanted to find out what was going on. Sure he was a slave, but that was a very loose term and Gallagher still felt as though he could do what he wanted. He had already made his mind up. They were going to find out what happened at Stonewall Point. Although the village of T
indu was a safe place to be, this was one of the longest times Gallagher had ever spent in one place, and he was itching for an adventure.
“That does it for training today I’m afraid, I must plan our people’s next moves. Omna, help Gallagher the White clean up this mess.”
“Yes master,” Omna said as she brought a bucket full of water over to where the man’s remains were.
“I can’t believe your making me clean this up,” Gallagher said as the others walked away. “Hey Omna.”
“Yes Gally?” she said with a smile.
“Want to go with me to Stonewall Point?”
“Umm… I don’t know. Didn’t the Master just say that we weren’t allowed to?”
“No. He said that he wouldn’t take a group of his best warriors.”
“I think he was trying to discourage you from wanting to go,” Omna said as she started scrubbing the ground.
“Well it did just the opposite! Now come on, you know you want to,” Gallagher persisted until Omna nodded her head. “Great! I’ll wrangle up the boys and we leave tonight.”
“We’re going to sneak out tonight?” Omna asked.
“Of course! We have to strike while the iron is hot. Now… do you know if either of them know where exactly this Stonewall Point place is?” Gallagher said.
“I think Moldur went with his father there once when he was younger…” Omna said as they finished cleaning up.
“Perfect, then we had better start packing.”
Omna put away the bucket and brushes and headed off to her tent as Gallagher casually walked over to Moldur’s. “Hey, Moldur you in here?” Gally asked as he entered.
“What do you want?!” Moldur said as he sat facing the wall of his tent hiding his face.
“You okay man?”
“Of course I am, what makes you think I’m not?” Moldur said as he sniffled a bit.
“Because you haven’t ate your dinner yet and it’s already getting cold,” Gallagher said.
“You can have it.”
“Okay now I know something is wrong.”
“I just…” Moldur paused before turning around and snorted. “I just want to know if my dad is alight that’s all.”
“Well that’s exactly why I came by,” Gallagher said as he bit into a piece of bacon that was lying on the table.
“Really? We’re actually going to go?” Moldur said as he wiped the tears from his face.
“Of course, Omna is already packing and everything.”
“Awesome... Now stay away from my food,” Moldur said before grabbing the plate from Gallagher and holding it up to his face, devouring the rest that was left.
“That’s more like it,” Gallagher said as he laughed and left the room. “Pack up, we’re leaving soon.”
“Leaving for where?” Valdar said as Gallagher turned from the tent.
“Uhh… nowhere. I was just challenging Moldur to get my 50th win and he was going to meet me in the courtyard after I ate dinner,” Gallagher explained, thinking of a lie on the spot in order to cover his tracks.
“I’m afraid I can’t have you two beating each other senseless while tensions are this high in the village,” Valdar said carrying a plate of food.
“Awwh come on!” Gallagher said as he headed for his tent.
“Don’t make me have to back hand you again kid,” Valdar said.
“Okay fine, you’re the boss,” Gally said as he watched Valdar walk away. I think he bought it.
Gallagher quickly hurried over to his tent, and grabbed what he needed for the journey. He packed his extra pair of clothes, a few bottles of water, and a small dagger that he had been making in his free time all into his bag and headed out. Moldur, Piggles, and Omna were already waiting outside of his tent by the time he finished packing.
“Are you all ready?” Moldur asked as Gallagher came out.
“Where’s Babah and Valden?” he quickly responded.
“I don’t know. Did you forget to tell him?” Omna said.
“Shit! You guys meet me on the outskirts of the village, I’m gonna go get them,” Gallagher said he blew past his friends.
“Typical,” Moldur said as he picked up his things.
Gallagher raced over to the enormous shelter as quickly as he could before stopping short just a few steps from the doorway. He set his things down and then took a deep breath before sitting down. He got into crawling position and began slithering across the ground, trying to make as little noise as possible. He pulled back the cloth and entered the tent slowly. Valdar was already fast asleep in his bed snoring loudly. Gallagher snuck past the broken chair in the living room and nearly banged his head on the dining table which was covered in maps and battle plans. As he turned to Valden’s room, Babah hopped up and sniffed towards him, wanting to play. “Go away,” he whispered as he swatted the bear. The cub then rose up onto his legs and roared before Gallagher apologized and gave him his finger to nibble on. He looked both at Valdar and then Valden before continuing on. “Valden… pssst,” he said. Valden rolled over but did not wake up. Closer and closer Gallagher crawled until Babah let go of his finger and trotted over jumping on Valden’s bed.
“What do you want Babah?” Valden mumbled.
“Valden! Hey, it’s me,” Gallagher whispered loudly as he crawled towards the bed.
“Gallagher?” Valden said as he sat up in bed. “What are you doing here?”
“Shhh, quiet down. We’re going on an adventure come on.”
“We are? Oh boy,” Valden said. He anxiously but slowly climbed out of bed and laid down into a crawl just as Gallagher was.
“Come on, let’s go, and don’t wake your dad.”
“Got it,” Valden said as both he and Babah squirmed out of the room.
Just as they were about to leave, a pointy object shined from the table. “What’s that?” Gallagher whispered to Valden.
“That’s my dad’s battle sword,” he answered.
It seemed risky to try and steal the weapon, but that’s what made it so tempting. “Grab it and let’s get out of here,” Gallagher said as he wiggled through the living room once more.
“But won’t he notice if it’s gone?”
“He’s going to notice when we’re gone! Now grab it.”
“Oh, right,” Valden said as he sat up towards the table and reached for the sword. He lifted it only a few inches before slamming it back onto the table.
“Jesus!” Gallagher nearly shouted as he watched Valdar sleep.
“It’s too heavy,” Valden said as he laid back onto the floor.
“Fine! Go, I’ll get it,” Gally said as Babah and Valden crept past him.
Gallagher stood up in the tent and lifted the sword ever so gently from the table. Nearly dropping it himself, he gripped it tight with both hands before tiptoeing out of the tent with it. The sword was quite heavy, and Gallagher had never held a sword before, but the chances of them having to use it in battle were slim.
Valden and his bear sat outside patiently waiting as Gallagher closed the tent cloth. “Okay, I got it, grab my bag and let’s go.”
“Why do I have to grab it?” Valden asked.
“Because I’m the one carrying the million pound sword that’s why,” he said as he hobbled down the road.
“Jeez, so much for your father being on guard,” Gallagher said as they met up with their friends just outside the village.
“Why did you bring that?” Omna whispered as they approached, pointing towards Valdar’s sword that Gallagher was carrying.
“You don’t have to whisper anymore, we made it,” Gallagher said. “I figured we could use it if the time comes. Now Moldur you know how to get there?”
Moldur nodded and the gang set off on their adventure to Stonewall Point.
Chapter 13
After leaving the Eternal Lands, Andrum and his friends made their way through the Endless Plains once more. After walking for quite some time, it was apparent that Uriella couldn’t go much longe
r without a break so they decided to make camp for the night. Andrum made requests to Yuralia for her to conjure up some fried food, as well as a campfire and tents. Not only did she do all of this, but she even conjured a few toys for Benry to play with. The gang rested and told stories for most of the night, learning about how different their two cultures were.
“I always thought City Niffs were supposed to be stuck up,” Yuralia said as she relaxed in front of the campfire.
“You mean you’ve come across others before us?” Uriella said.
“No, but that’s just what Mother always told us.”
“Well to be fair, we hadn’t even known about Village Niffs until now otherwise we would have introduced ourselves sooner,” Andrum said as he poked at the campfire with a stick.
The fire soon went out and the group drifted off to sleep. All except for Andrum who had far too much on his mind to rest.
I still cannot believe Xurion has entrusted me with his powers, he thought as he stood up and walked around. I wonder how I will be able to use them? Or if I even can?
He paced back and forth on his side of camp until deciding to ease his mind by exploring a bit. As Andrum wondered around, making sure he wouldn’t lose track of where camp was, he got a strange feeling as if he was being followed. Sure enough, after walking a few miles he turned back to see that Benry, the dog that Yuralia had found in the Eternal Lands, was following him. He called the dog over and started to pet him. Benry rolled over, completely relaxing as Andrum scratched his tummy. “Who’s a good boy? You are.”
Just as they were starting to have fun, Benry hopped up and began to growl uncontrollably. Andrum looked first at him and then into the darkness of the desert.
“What is it boy?” he asked.
A few howls were let out in the distance as a pack of coyotes approached. Andrum stepped in front of Benry who was going irate and attempted to hold him back. The group of coyotes slowly came up to them as Andrum thought of what to do next.
“They must be awfully hungry if they are targeting us,” Andrum said as an older coyote came closer.
