by D N Meinster
After munching on a few more berries, Doren returned the shield to his back and called Ji-Ji over. He picked up the denhare and searched around. "Which way are we supposed to go?" He'd become disoriented in his exhaustion, and none of his surroundings looked familiar. But at least he had a clear head and answers about the Roamers.
"If you still intend to chase after your girlfriend…" Slythe pointed to the west. "Though perhaps you’ve become more rational after sleeping into the afternoon?"
Doren glanced upward, where a scattering of sunbeams broke through the trees. The sun was indeed high enough for it to be later in the day than he thought. Well, he needed the rest. It felt like he hadn't had a full night's sleep since that one day they spent in the imperial palace.
He thought back to everything Slythe had told him the previous day. There were still plenty of questions to ask, but he had a more important one for the moment. "Are you coming?" Doren asked as he passed by Slythe.
"I supposed I can't let my great-great-great-great-great nephew be killed, now can I?" Slythe followed until he'd caught up to Doren's side.
"I think you left out a few greats," Doren said, blushing only when the potential arrogance of the statement hit him.
"So what's up with the denhare?" Slythe asked.
As they shuffled through the high grass, Doren revealed exactly who Ji-Ji was and how Rikki had found him. Slythe did not seem perturbed, merely noting how intelligent the creature had seemed as they played.
Doren had only seen Ji-Ji as an albatross, but the denhare had proved his worth in battle. The results of his attack could be seen every now-and-then as they came upon dried blood sticking to the blades of grass. Donic had traversed almost the same path they were now on, and if they'd gone after him sooner, they might even have caught him.
Yet Doren had not been in any condition to engage even a wounded Hunter. The only problem was that if Rikki had been captured or worse, her captor would know that they were coming.
Doren felt a spike of rage rise in his chest. Why did she have to go it alone? After all they'd been through, when had splitting up ever proven beneficial? In Faunli, he'd been kidnapped and she'd shifted through time. In Belliore, Aros would've died if not for M'dalla's intervention.
His eyes flashed toward Slythe. The Roamers had been surprisingly helpful, even when they couldn't really trust each other.
"Why didn't you join us back in Faunli?" Doren asked. "Why didn't you tell us who you were?"
"Can you even accept who I am now?" Slythe retorted. "We had a mission. We didn't know who you were or why you were after the Keys. Protecting them was our job."
Doren realized how much easier it would have been if they'd joined forces back then. A band of eight might even have gathered all the Keys already. There would've been two mages working together. It was even possible to think that Yuurei would still be alive.
Slythe wasn't finished. "We'd all faced Thalians before. We had training. We didn't expect any kids could possibly match us. In battle-after-battle, you've proved us wrong."
"And now that you're down to two, you help us," Doren grumbled.
"Azzer's not dead," Slythe stated. "And Zeniri's elsewhere. Plus, we've got Revolutionaries on our side."
"As long as Aros stays on our side," Doren said with a slight giggle. "I think Loraya would follow him to the other side of the Door if he went."
"So you noticed, too?" Slythe replied. "But I'm not sure your friend has."
"That's Aros," Doren said. "But he's been through a lot recently."
As they cut through impeding bushes and continued trudging through the high grass, Doren told Slythe of everything that had happened in Kytheras before the Roamers woke up. He couldn't help complaining about his father even as he described Hatswick's betrayal and Leidess' fate.
"I've yet to meet Hatswick again," Slythe said. "I remember him as a powerful mage with a flamboyant yellow coat. Does he still wear that trilby?"
"He's never taken it off," Doren answered. "And he's not even bald."
"I don't know if I'm more surprised he's still alive or that he's a Thalian. Hatswick was loyal to the Tunsevs."
"Up until my father," Doren said. "Honestly, that makes sense."
Doren hadn't considered that Halstrom might've alienated the former Grand Mage, but he'd alienated his own son so it was a definite possibility.
"I wouldn't go blaming your father for Hatswick's choices."
"Can I blame him for mine?" Doren asked. "I wanted to escape Castle Tornis for so long. You know I'm almost grateful for what Hatswick did. It got me out of that place. Even though it cost lives. Even though I almost died. I'm glad to be out of there."
"Be sure to thank Neanthal if you see him," Slythe remarked with an edge to his voice.
Doren glowered at Slythe, looking away before a smile took its place. He wasn't sure what his father would be like once he got back to Kytheras. Would he resemble the kinder man he'd been in their last interaction? Or would he revert to his typical self? Ironically, he might not have stayed changed because of Doren's departure.
Slythe put a hand to Doren's chest and prevented him from going further. He tapped on his own ear to signal him to listen.
There was a grinding noise floating through the vicinity. And there was even the occasional bark and whimper. It sounded like dogs, but this was not the place he'd have thought to find any. Dogs were more native to cities, feeding on scraps left in streets when they weren't properly looked after. Then again, he hadn't seen any in Faunli or Belliore, and those kingdoms weren't lacking in cities.
Slythe took out a single blade and guided Doren to the source of the commotion. Against the base of an isolated rocky hill was a pack of petite dog-like creatures biting and pouncing on each other. They had short fur of gray and white, with pointy ears and snouts from which their whines would escape as they played. As they were only slightly larger than a denhare, they posed no real threat to Doren, Slythe, or even the similarly sized brown creatures frolicking in their midst. Their heads and faces were more narrow than their companions, though they had the same beady eyes. Some had antlers to make up for their lack of sharp teeth, and others had spots of white on their brown coats.
"They're adorable," Doren said. Ji-Ji leapt out of his arms and started playing with the animals.
"Mideer and miwolves," Slythe informed. "I haven't seen them since my youth."
Doren stepped closer, but Slythe tugged on his arm. "They're not dangerous, but they'll bite."
Doren pounded on his metallic chest and moved in. He knelt down and held out a hand to one of the miwolves. The pup got close and nudged Doren's hand with its snout. As he reached out to pet it with a single finger, another miwolf jumped at Doren and knocked him onto his back. The miwolf let out a growl before it started to lick his face. Doren couldn't hold back his laughter.
Doren lifted the miwolf up and spun it around before setting it back on the ground. The pup yelped and rammed itself into Doren's legs.
A mideer charged at the nearest miwolf and poked it with its antlers. After it was done with the pup, it came at Doren.
"Naughty," Doren said. Before he could lift it up, Ji-Ji rushed through and head-butted it in the side.
Slythe eventually walked up to Doren, but instead of scolding him as he thought he might, Slythe lifted up two miwolves and placed one on each shoulder. They stayed still until he raised both arms out to his sides. The pups tried walking along his limbs, though they both fell off before reaching his hands.
As Doren rolled around with a mideer and miwolf tucked into his arms, he couldn't help feeling slightly jealous that Rikki and Aros both had pets of his own. They could play with them like this anytime. Even the sentient Ji-Ji seemed to enjoy his time with the other animals.
"We should go," Doren said as he tried catching his breath.
Slythe finished poking a mideer's snout with his nose and set it down. "Valiant Keep awaits."
"Ji-Ji!" Doren called ou
t before setting off with Slythe. The denhare eventually followed.
Chapter Nineteen
Out of Captivity
"I knew you'd be trouble," Yim said as he crossed the threshold and fully entered the dungeons. The crystal clubs in each of his hands were glowing, though it was Rikki's own armor that revealed the entirety of his naked frame.
"It's bad enough that you torture them!" Rikki exclaimed. "But to make them gaze upon your bare ass? That's unforgivable."
"You need another lesson," Yim replied while twirling both clubs. "Allow me to bestow you with one!" He slammed both clubs together in front of his chest and sent out a shockwave that knocked Rikki and Azzer off their feet.
Rikki shook with rage as she lied upon the damp floor. It hadn't even been a day since Yim bested her, and he was about to do it again. She was tired of being outmatched by other mages. Hatswick was historically powerful, but no one had even heard of this Yim. It must've been the clubs that gave him an advantage. They were made of pure channeling crystal, which had probably been mined from these very mountains. They must’ve increased his abilities exponentially. If she could take them from him, then she might stand a chance.
But right now, she was as defenseless as the mage lying next to her. The firepower in her armor could easily be blocked by Yim's magic. And no matter what metal the Bellish had used in its construction, it was likely susceptible to his overpowered crystals.
"My body is perfection," Yim stated as he approached. "My magic is unmatched. All mages have fallen to me. You are no exception."
Instead of picking herself up, Rikki let her magic do it for her. She gradually floated off the floor, staring into Yim's empty eyes while she hovered and rotated into a more upright position.
"I can take more than your hair from you," Yim warned.
"You can try!" Rikki shouted before extending an arm toward the dungeon's entrance.
Yim looked back just in time to see Rikki's staff whack him in the face as it zoomed into its owner's hand.
Rikki lowered her feet back to the ground while Yim took a moment to recover from the blow. She tightened both of her hands onto her staff, feeling confident that she might be able to take on the loyalist mage. She'd been surprised by him and his abilities the first time they met. That would not be the case this time.
Rikki wanted to heal Azzer but feared she'd open herself up to attack if she was distracted at any point. So she concentrated on the mage before her and targeted him with her staff.
With a jab forward, she intended to rip both clubs out of Yim's hands. But he clung to them even as they rose into the air.
Yim flexed his biceps before he tugged both clubs downward and he landed back on the floor.
"Little mage," he said. "You are going to regret this."
Rikki intended to send an avalanche of ice from the tip of her staff into Yim's face, but she seemed to freeze time, instead, as she thrust her staff towards him.
She was momentarily confused as Yim froze in place, while the captive mages around her were still able to move their eyes and even jangle the occasional chain.
"Am I manipulating time?" Rikki pondered, staring with wonder at her staff. She indirectly moved through time before, but this was something different. It was more like the time stasis trap the Bellish had designed.
"The best mages can," Azzer mumbled from the ground.
This seemed an ideal point to heal the Roamer. Rikki touched her staff to the center of his chest and her channeling crystal flicked multiple times.
Once she pulled away, Azzer was able to stand back up on his own. As he wiped his hand along his cheeks, the unshaven hairs that had bestrewn them disappeared. "Better."
"How?" Rikki wondered, but she didn't get an answer before Yim was free from her time lock.
Though he was briefly puzzled, he realized what she had done and gazed knowingly at his own clubs.
"I think I just taught him something," Rikki spoke with concern.
She saw a burst of rippled air coming toward her from Yim, but she didn't see what happened after.
Instead, the next thing she saw was Azzer ejecting a ball of blue lightning from one hand while he waved his staff at Yim in his other.
Rikki had lost time and she hadn't even realized it. It couldn't have been that much later, but Yim could've easily harmed her in the interim if Azzer hadn't interceded.
Yim dissipated Azzer's attacks with ease, but Rikki came up to his side and released a stream of green fire at the loyalist mage.
Yim froze the flames in midair and all three mages gawked at the spectacle.
"How far does this go?" Yim wondered aloud. He stretched out an arm and targeted one of the bound mages hanging on the wall. The captive's skin pruned and wrinkled before it began to disintegrate. Within a minute, there was nothing but a skeleton left in his place.
Azzer and Rikki eyed each other with concern. "Don't let him target us both at once," the Roamer cautioned before charging at their opponent.
Yim flung Azzer against the wall before Rikki took control of the coil of flames and willed them to enwrap Yim.
The combustible tendrils closed in her opponent, but Yim burst through the fire, completely unharmed. As he prepared to retaliate, Azzer lunged at him.
Yim froze the blue mage in midair and then sought to do the same to Rikki.
Seeing what was coming, Rikki attempted to outpace him.
The two mages wound up freezing each other in time, so that when the effects of their abilities finally wore off, nothing at all had changed.
"You should be careful," Azzer warned Yim. "Or you might find that you wake up in a world where Kahar is already dead."
"King Kahar will never die," Yim responded. With a swing of his club, Azzer aged ten years within seconds.
Rikki's mouth fell open. He could turn her into an old woman before their battle was over. Would such a change be reversible? Doren would never be able to love someone that was older than his own parents.
She shook the thought away and targeted the ground beneath Yim. But he remained atop it even as it began to melt.
"Can't you do better than that?" Yim asked, and he aimed his club at her.
Though she didn't age, the armor she wore did. It began to crinkle and rust the longer Yim kept his club pointed at it.
Rikki lifted her staff and tossed it like it was a javelin.
Yim was unable to move his club away in time before it shattered right as her staff made contact with it.
Rikki summoned her staff back to her outstretched arm.
The loss of his weapon seemed to confound Yim, and instead of keeping up his defenses, he tried to reverse the damage she'd done to his club.
This provided enough of an opening for Azzer to swing his staff down onto Yim's arm and rather easily detach it from the rest of his body. There was no blood seeping from the wound, nor did Yim scream in pain. Instead, he was briefly left in a state of shock.
The one-armed mage returned his focus to their duel, and even with a solitary club, he was able to lift both Rikki and Azzer off the ground and send them flying to the other side of the dungeon.
"This one's no pushover," Azzer moaned.
"Stay back here in case he freezes me," Rikki urged her partner before pushing herself up and rushing at Yim.
The one-armed mage stared longingly at his discarded limb.
Rikki targeted the arm and it turned into skeletal remains before his eyes.
As she watched, she realized that was how Kahar had gotten Aergo's arm. Someone had done the reverse of what she just did. Probably even Yim. Though perhaps he’d merely restored it rather than manipulate its age.
Yim pointed his club at Rikki before she reached him, and the pieces of her armor corroded and cracked before flying off her body. She left a trail of silver behind before she took to the air.
Yim froze her while she was airborne, but Azzer froze him right after, so that by the time she was on her way back to the ground, Yi
m remained in the exact place she'd remembered leaving him.
The silver wings on Rikki's staff were aglow as they cut through Yim's other arm.
With magically enhanced strength, Rikki stomped on Yim's remaining club, causing it to shatter and scatter across the dungeon.
While Yim stood there, dumbstruck, Rikki conjured up black threads to entwine and cover the armless mage's body.
"Better," Rikki nodded. She studied Yim, considering what to do with him. She wasn't the type to simply execute her opponent after they'd been defeated and rendered helpless. But was it wise to leave him alive?
Azzer came up to her side.
"What should we do with him?" she asked.
"Catharsis," Azzer replied, and with a wave of his staff, all the mages in the dungeon were freed from their chains.
"That was a mistake," Yim stated with malevolent glee.
Azzer and Rikki were immediately tackled by nearby mages.
Other mages began to assist Yim. They picked up his arms and attempted to magically reattach them to his torso.
But while Rikki bashed her staff into one of the brainwashed mages, another set of mages charged forth and knocked the loyalist mages off their feet.
The mages were tearing at each other, using both their gifts and their fingers to draw blood and rip the skin from their opponents’ bodies.
Yim had one functioning arm again, which he used to summon his hounds from wherever they'd been hiding. The hounds pounced on those that would defy the loyalists, ripping at their necks with their sharpened teeth.
Rikki used her staff to lift herself back on her feet, and after a cursory survey of the chaos, she targeted the hounds and turned them into dust.
Though she was almost overwhelmed by the power she'd unleashed, she spun around and attempted to do the same to Yim.
But the one-armed mage was not so feeble even without his clubs. A hound fell into the pathway of her attack and transformed into a gray cloud. Yim used the cloud to conceal himself from his rivals.
While Rikki prepared to disburse the obstruction, another mage launched himself at her staff and ripped it out of her grip.
