by Roy Huff
To pass the time, Felix started throwing Grenmar into the air and then catching him as he fell back down. Asher tried to ignore them and started up a conversation with Owen.
“What do you think you’ll find when you get to The Third Pillar of Truth?” Asher asked.
“I’m not sure, Asher, but if it’s anything like that last Two Pillars of Truth, I’ll be given a choice of some kind or be asked to complete some kind of task,” Owen replied.
“Do you think you’ll pass?” Asher asked.
“I certainly hope so. If not, we might not be able to stop Mallory,” Owen said in response.
Something in the distance caught Felix’s eye.
“Hey, do you see that?” Asher asked.
“Up ahead. I see something moving. It looks like it’s coming toward us!” Felix shouted in horror.
Asher looked closer.
“Yeah. I think I see it, too,” Asher said with concern.
Owen reached for the jar and took a dose of the elixir. Immediately he could sense this was a race of grotesque creatures from the inhabitants of the Dark Forest, one of the lands that surrounded The Other In Between. Owen couldn’t tell exactly what they were thinking; all he could sense was rage.
“We need to hide. Now!” Owen said with urgency.
Owen had picked up the thoughts of a few creatures on the trail below them. They weren’t exactly benevolent, but they were better than the alternative.
“Here! Now! Get down! This way!” Owen shouted pointing in the direction of a small cave.
They followed Owen and escaped into the cave just before the creatures that were barreling towards them could notice them.
Grenmar was especially frightened. The ground above them trembled as the large hideous creatures shook it with their passing.
The moment was fleeting. They were shaken but ready to continue on their journey.
“We better get moving,” said Owen.
“Can we stay a while longer?” Felix asked.
Just then, Felix saw several pairs of eyes peering at him from the dark.
“Never mind!” Felix shouted as he ran out of the cave as quickly as he could. Grenmar hopped along behind him; Asher and Owen followed suit.
Owen and the others continued along the mountain trail, walking at a brisk pace. With each step they were gaining altitude and losing warmth. Owen took out some additional coverings from their supplies to try and stay warm.
Owen and his companions were shivering, but they needed to press forward. Owen increased the pace, but the Ubaloo struggled to keep up, falling behind Grenmar who didn’t have any difficulty hopping along.
After several more hours, Owen decided it was time to take a break. They were cold, exhausted, and hungry; it was the perfect time to make camp.
Owen took another dose of the elixir from the jar, but he didn’t pick up on any creatures in the area.
“I don’t sense anyone or anything. We need to look around and see if there is a cave close by. Felix and Asher, see if you can find something on the trail on either side,” Owen said.
They continued looking for shelter for another twenty minutes, getting colder and weaker with each passing minute. The sun had set some time ago, and the darkness was becoming unsettling. Finally, Grenmar spotted a cave a few hundred feet ahead of the others, signaling them by jumping up and down as high as he could until they saw him.
They ran to his location, fumbling around in the dark.
The cave was just large enough for them to escape exposure from the weather. Felix and Asher collected some small boulders and brush near the area to partially close off the entrance from the outside in order to retain some heat and concealment from potential unwanted guests.
Owen lifted out some of the food from their supplies and equally divided it among the four of them. They huddled as close together as possible to stay warm while nibbling slowly on their rations, but it wasn’t having much of an effect. By the time the last of them, Grenmar, stopped shivering, fatigue had won out over the cold and they were all taken in by a deep sleep.
Just before dawn the next morning they awoke to the sound of galloping above them. Asher took a peek outside and watched as slimy, green troll-like creatures riding on the backs of small black horses galloped past their position.
This was the second time in less than half a day that soldiers from The Dark Forest marched past them. Owen began to suspect that there was something afoot among the remaining armies of Them that survived the battle in The City of Worms, but his first priority remained reaching The Third Pillar of Truth.
Owen took another dose of the elixir after they had finished eating their meager breakfast in order to see who or what was ahead of them.
“We need to hurry. I don’t sense any soldiers coming our way, but I don’t know how long that will last. Let’s get moving,” Owen said with urgency.
After gathering their supplies, they moved the debris covering their exit and started out on the trail.
The next several hours were uneventful. The temperature was still chilly, but they were adequately covered and the morning sun provided some additional warmth as its rays shone down on their skin. They continued at the same brisk pace, and before long, they had reached the mountain pass next to the abyss.
The abyss was vast; the distance between the mountain pass where they stood and the Black River below was easily several thousand feet. Owen’s bravery had grown through the battles that he had fought, but the fear of falling down the steep abyss was very real. The Ubaloo and Grenmar also shared that fear.
Asher retrieved the climbing equipment and fastened the harnesses to each of them. The concave valley wall was equally as steep, but the sheer terrain they would have to descend was made of very unstable rocks and soil, which made it difficult to get a firm footing.
They descended in the same order as they had previously climbed; Owen remained on top, Asher, Felix, and then Grenmar climbed below, in that order. As always, Grenmar was unwieldy and clumsy. The Ubaloo above were able to quickly stabilize him, but it made the process of descent slow and tedious.
“My arms are really getting tired, guys. I need to take a break when we get to that small footpath below,” Owen said in exhaustion.
It was the only relief on the entire vertical face, and the distance below the footpath was twice the distance of what they just covered. The spot where they rested was narrow with no room to spare, so they were cautious not to move too abruptly for fear of falling over. Despite the small space, they took their time to recoup some strength and eat a few snacks.
“Alright, let’s get moving,” Owen said, signaling them to restart the descent.
With each step down, loose bits of rock and soil fell from the side of the mountain. As they continued below the snow line, it became more difficult to find a firm footing due to the increased amount of loose soil and increased moisture. They were forced to slow their pace.
By the time they had covered half the distance between the footpath above and the Black River below, they noticed a sound.
“Hey, guys. I think we have some company!” Felix shouted in fear.
Owen could see movement in the limited brush that was there, and he heard a distinct hissing sound.
“Snakes! Snakes!” Felix shouted.
Several large snakes, larger in width than the Ubaloo and over twenty feet in length, wound their way around the rocks and meager vegetation, popping in and out of small holes within the mountain. The snakes sensed their presence and quickly chased after them. Fortunately, the snakes were slowed down by the same threat of falling down the abyss as Owen and his men.
Grenmar quickened his descent, and so did the others. Several times they nearly stumbled, but with their increased speed, they managed to cover a substantial distance. Just before they reached the river’s surface at the bottom of the abyss, Owen lost his footing. Both Ubaloo grabbed the harness that connected them and used all their strength to keep Owen from dropping int
o the river. It didn’t, however, prevent him from banging into the side of the mountain and losing consciousness.
The Ubaloo rushed into action and once they had securely fastened Owen, Asher removed the ointment that the healer gave them when they were in the land of the giants. He applied a small amount to the gash on Owen’s head, and after a few moments, Owen opened his eyes. Once he regained his bearings, Owen thanked the Ubaloo.
“Alright, how exactly are we going to do this?” Owen said, looking at the Black River rapids directly below them.
Grenmar was lighter than water and could easily float on his own, but with three other bodies, they would need something to hold onto.
Owen and the Ubaloo spent the next half an hour building a small makeshift raft from some nearby branches, using some cloth, some string, and their bags to tie them together. It wasn’t very large, but it would provide just enough surface area for them to hold on to once they attached it to Grenmar.
Owen positioned himself in the back of the raft, directly in the center, with the Ubaloo on either side of him. Grenmar was in the front, and the small raft was tied around his arms.
“Here goes nothing,” Owen shouted as he pushed off from the wall of the mountain and jumped into the freezing white water rapids of Black River.
The cold water bit their skin upon impact. The force of the river was tremendous, and the rapids constantly banged the four of them into rocks and sticks that were embedded in the riverbed. The rapids carried them half a mile downstream before the current gradually calmed and the river widened.
“I’m freeee… freee… freeezing,” Felix mumbled.
“Mmmm… mmm… meee, too,” Owen replied, as the chattering of their teeth drowned out the sound of the flowing river.
“I see the valley up ahead. Swim that way, Grenmar,” Asher said.
Grenmar was very buoyant, but his hands and feet were small, making it difficult for him to gather much speed. Owen picked up most of the slack by kicking his feet from behind. Eventually, they gathered enough speed to propel them in the direction of the valley, which lay ahead of them on the left. Before too long, they were dragging battered and bruised bodies out of the river and up onto the shore.
“We need to make a fire to get warm,” Owen said.
After healing themselves with the ointment, Asher and Felix gathered sticks and Owen looked for suitable dry rocks to make a spark. Owen then piled the sticks together, intermingling with them whatever dry brush and dead grass he could find, and succeeded in making a small campfire.
Grenmar grinned from ear to ear and rubbed his hands together in front of the fire. They sat there quietly, warming themselves, and rested for several minutes.
Asher spoke up. “I can see the large tree that Varstock told us about. The bluff must not be to far from there.”
“Yeah, I see it, too,” Owen replied.
“Can we come with you?” Felix asked.
“Well, we can continue together until we reach the bluff, but I don’t think The Third Pillar will allow you beyond that point,” Owen responded.
They rested a while longer and then began putting out the fire. Shortly thereafter, they continued on their way.
The valley on the left of the river was green and lush, but the valley on the right was brown and lifeless. Owen assumed it was an artifact of The Third Pillar. Animal life was conspicuously absent from both sides of the valley, and there was an eerie calm. Even the wind was absent.
They passed the large tree and traveled a thousand paces forward, just as instructed by Varstock. Before them, they saw the bluff. It was about five hundred feet high and three hundred feet across and absent any vegetation. They came closer until finally stopping directly in front of it.
“Here we are,” Asher said.
Grenmar and Felix started touching the rock in front of them, trying to see if they could find a hidden entrance.
“It feels real to me,” Felix said as he continued to touch the rock.
Owen approached the bluff preparing to step through.
“Well, if I don’t see you again, it’s been a pleasure,” Owen said.
“You’re not going to leave us here are you?” Felix replied.
“I don’t know, Felix. I’m not sure what’s going to happen once I step into the bluff. I’m sure you can find your way back with the help of Asher and Grenmar if you need to. Here. Take the last of the elixir and ointment,” Owen said as he handed over the supplies.
Grenmar gave Owen one last hug.
“I’ll see you again. I promise,” Owen said.
Then he stepped forward and vanished into the bluff.
CHAPTER 10
THE ALARIANS
Back at Easton Falls, Zee and Drusilla had been discussing what do about the jar of liquid element stolen from Zee’s home. They decided to discuss the situation with Dante and Anika over some coffee in the back of the campus café along with the barista Adaline, who had the day off.
“Owen said that Jacob was working with Mallory to help channel more of the element from the multiverse. I can only assume he stole the small jar of element to make another one of those beetle things,” Dante said.
“I think it’s more complicated than that. First of all, Mallory already possesses the dragon, the sole remaining worm. That’s why Owen is searching for The Third Pillar of Truth, so he can destroy the dragon and prevent Mallory from having unlimited power. The newly created element is already being channeled into the dragon. I’m not sure why Mallory would need another collector,” Zee replied.
“Maybe it’s not for him, or maybe it is for him but to channel the element away from the dragon for some reason,” Drusilla speculated.
“I think you may be on to something,” Anika replied.
“He also said something about the race of creatures that seeded the worms. Maybe he wants to channel some of the element to them in order to give them more power, maybe so they would be willing to fight with him,” Anika said.
“But why would he need their help if he already has the dragon and the element?” Dante asked.
“Think about it. The worms were seeded by the race of creatures. If the dragon is the only surviving offspring and has the element being channeled directly into it, then Mallory has to rely solely on the dragon for his power. Maybe he needs them in order to keep the dragon in line or to keep himself in the dragon’s good graces. Maybe he needs collectors for him to ensure he maintains the power he wants, and he needs collectors for the others until his is powerful enough,” Zee replied.
“I guess that makes sense, but what are we going to do about that now? If Jacob already has the element, he’s probably already made another device to channel the element. What can we do?” Dante asked.
“Well, at the very least we should let Owen and The Keeper know once they contact us again—if they don’t know already. We should try to find out if Jacob has actually made the devices and who he’s working for. Once we do that, we can try to stop him if he hasn’t or steal it if he has,” Zee replied.
“Letting Owen and The Keeper know about it goes without saying, but we need to be very careful if Jacob’s already made another collector. Stealing it didn’t work out so well for Owen and Drusilla last time,” Dante said.
Adaline interjected, “We may be jumping the gun here. We don’t know if Jacob’s finished doing whatever it is that he’s doing or finished making that device thing, but we can easily have him watched. We can see what he does, and then we can look for that guy he was talking with, and if we have the chance to tell Owen or The Keeper, then let’s do that. I think the first thing we should do, though, is tell Avery.”
“I agree, Adaline, and we haven’t heard back yet from the other members of the Echo Club. Maybe they know something, or maybe they’re in trouble. We can start there,” Anika said.
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll have my people see what they can dig up. Zee and Drusilla, maybe you can have someone watch Jacob. Dante and Anika, you should l
et Avery know about the situation and then have him find out what he knows of the whereabouts of the other Echo Club members,” Adaline said.
Zee and the others now had their plan and would have to wait to see what they could dig up. Beyond that, the situation was out of their hands; they would just have to be patient.
Back on the distant planet in the border realms, things were going according to plan. Mallory had finally gathered enough of the element within the artifact that adorned his neck in order to do certain small tasks, like contacting Jacob across the vast expanse. The dragon, Rathlar, was also growing more powerful, and its power would soon attract the attention of the Alarians.
Mallory needed the additional artifacts soon to gain their trust and to encourage them to fight against the armies of Everville. The Alarians were useless without the element, and Mallory needed the Alarians to finish his plan. The Keeper and The Pillars of Truth possessed the ability to limit concentration of the element through various tricks. Before Mallory could eliminate The Keepers and The Seven Pillars of Truth, he needed to make sure that all methods used to stop the concentration and flow of the element across the multiverse were destroyed. He would not do be able to do that alone and would need the assistance of the Alarians, who be able to help him destroy the mineral rocks and the portals used to contain the element.
His artifact would possess the sole power to steal the element from all the others, which would render the Alarians powerless at the moment of his choosing. He would need to wait, though, until the combination of his power and the Alarians was greater than the dragon’s. That’s when he could steal the dragon’s power once and for all.
