Brothers

by Viktor Zólyomi

  For some reason, Zack was not homesick in the slightest bit. He didn't care to see his home world again, he was very much satisfied with Kh'Tal. But I think he was pleased that he could show off his new skills to me. I remember well how widely he smiled when he opened the Portal for us in less than twenty seconds.

  `Am I good, or am I fucking good?' he asked.

  `You're fucking good!' I told him. `But don't forget that you're not the only one who improved a lot in the past five years.'

  He nodded, and pat me in the back. In those five years that we had spent in Kh'Tal, I had a lot of opportunities to use my skills in battle, and that certainly helped me improve. I also managed to get my hands on some pretty strong and resilient armor, as well as a big and sharp sword. I love big swords, you know...

  Anyway, we stepped through the Portal and arrived at the edge of the forests surrounding Ashkel. As the Portal closed behind us, I took a deep breath and looked around.

  `Ah, home sweet home!' I exclaimed.

  `Yeah, right...' replied Zack with a frown.

  `Come on, you've got to enjoy it at least a little.'

  `Actually, I'd rather get back to Kh'Tal soon. I like that darkness, you know.'

  `Have you started studying black magic yet?'

  `Not yet. I'd rather wait with that until I can improve my skills in arcane magic.'

  `Haven't you improved enough? You seem pretty damn powerful to me now.'

  `Nah... There's always more to be learned. You know, you as a guy who knows almost nothing of magic think I'm a bigshot all powerful mage. But after having studied magic for fifteen years, I can clearly see that no matter how good I become at this shit, there will always be more to learn. There's no such thing as an all powerful mage.'

  `Not even Aurach?'

  `Of course not. He knows that, too. Why do you think he does all those magical experiments all the time? He tries to learn from them.'

  `So, when your studies are finished, are you going to be doing that, too?'

  `I dunno. Maybe. But I'm thinking, that perhaps I can learn more from traveling the Planes. You know, there are millions... and millions... of worlds out there. In each of them, intelligent life and civilization have evolved differently. Therefore, what is known of magic in each world must also be somewhat different. So maybe I'll go and explore the Planes instead.'

  `Explore the Planes... That sure sounds like fun!'

  `Yeah... Wanna come?'

  `Sure! But first, let me...'

  At that very moment, we heard a sound like the popping of a bubble, and a moment later, an aged human figure appeared before us. He was wearing a colorful mage robe, and he looked pretty angry.

  `I knew it!' he exclaimed. `The culprits always return to the scene of the crime!'

  `Huh? Who are you, and what are you talking about?' I asked.

  `Why, you don't know who I am?!' came the reply. `I am the great Harvey Matuak, Magister of the magnificent Mage Guild of Ashkel! And you... You are the thieves that have stolen my spellbook!'

  Nervously, I ran my fingers through my hair, and looked at Zack. He was frowning.

  `Ah... spellbook? I don't know what you mean...' I said. `Do you, Zack? I sure haven't seen any spellbook...'

  Zack didn't reply. He was just staring at Matuak with a frown.

  `Do you take me for a fool?! I know it was you!' exclaimed Matuak, pointing at Zack. `You and my book vanished at the same time, it cannot be a coincidence.'

  `Well, accidents do happen.' I told him, but he just looked at Zack and continued.

  `When the book vanished, I started looking for traces of recently opened Portals. When I found it, I had to learn that you had actually opened a Portal to the forbidden world, to Kh'Tal!'

  By then, I was pretty nervous. He knew pretty much everything. I just didn't understand how he had found us, but he explained without me asking.

  `Errr... maybe you are mistaken.' I told him. `Who would dare travel to the forbidden world?'

  `Enough of the lies!' he sneered, still staring at Zack. `I have been waiting for you for the past five damned years to return. I knew you would. That's why I created a crystal sphere that would immediately signal me if a Portal is opened anywhere within three hundred miles around Ashkel.'

  `Errr... Wow. That must have been pretty difficult.' I told him, trying to sound impressed.

  `It was more expensive than difficult. But enough of this! Do you know the punishment for entering the forbidden world?!'

  Then, Zack finally spoke.

  `You tell me, Harvey Boy... But while you're at it, tell me something else, too. What is the punishment for having the magical incantations necessary to enter the forbidden world written in one of your own personal spellbooks?' he asked with a frown.

  Matuak's eyes opened wide in anger, and he shouted at Zack.

  `You will not wiggle your way out of this!' he screamed, and then he continued in a lighter tone. `That book is not mine, after all. It was confiscated from an outlaw.'

  `Then why does it have Property of H. Matuak written on the front inner cover page?' asked Zack, smiling.

  `Enough! I will give you one chance to surrender. If you don't, you will die a horrendous death in pain and suffering.' Matuak said, calmly. But the look in his eyes betrayed his anger.

  Zack shrugged, and started picking his nose. While I was getting more and more nervous. I glanced around, trying to see where we could run. But there was no way out. A short way behind us there was the edge of a cliff, and in all other directions the forest waited. Although hiding in the forest may sound like a viable choice, but the trees were too far away, we could never have reached cover before Matuak blasts us to smithereens with his spells.

  About a minute passed, and he spoke again.

  `Time's up! Will you surrender, or must I make this painful for you both?'

  `Hey, Harvey Boy... I've been meaning to tell you this for a very, very long time...' said Zack. `Go fuck yourself!'

  Matuak's face went red with anger, and I covered my face with my left hand. Slowly, Matuak regained his composure, and then he turned to me.

  `What about you? You have been his pawn, but you need not share his fate. Kill him for me, and I will show you mercy. In fact, I will even reward you. How would you like to become the new Guildmaster of the Fighter's Guild?'

  I lowered my hand and looked him in the eye.

  `That's an interesting offer.' I told him. `Tell you what, Matuak... Go fuck yourself!'

  Now that's when he got really angry. His face turned even more red than before, and he raised both his hands.

  *

  A second later, he showered us with a hail of magical projectiles. I'm pretty sure they'd have killed us, but Zack raised his own hands in the air at the same time when Matuak started throwing his spells at us, and a transparent sphere appeared around me, and another around Zack. They were some sort of magical shields that blocked the attacks of Matuak. Zack cast the spells in a fraction of a moment by just waving his hands. It was stunning to behold how much his power had increased. Matuak himself was also greatly surprised at that.

  `How did you...' he muttered to himself. Then Zack turned to me.

  `What the fuck are you waiting for?!' he screamed, and he didn't need to say it twice. I knew, that if we don't kill Matuak, we'll die. It was either him or us. Not a difficult decision. So, I drew my sword, and charged at Matuak with a battlecry.

  I kept the sword pointing straight ahead in front of me, aiming to impale Matuak on it, while he turned his full attention to me and showered me with various magical missiles. Zack in the meantime did something that strengthened the magical shield around me. Matuak didn't bother to protect himself, he was very certain he could kill me before I reached him.

  But he was wrong. He was still showering me with magic projectiles when I impaled him on my sword and dragged him along with me for a good ten feet or so, and knocked him to the ground. I pulled my sword out of him, pulling some innards out al
ong the way. He looked pretty bad, I was pretty certain he'd die in seconds.

  But no. As I stepped back and lowered my sword, he slowly stood up, rage burning in his eyes. His innards were hanging out of the wound on his belly, he was bleeding profusely, but he was standing. His magic sustained him. You see, magic is able to give one extraordinary resilience. Even if you're dying of a fatal wound that would normally weaken you and render you helpless, magic will keep you going and allow you to keep on fighting as long as you live. That's what happened with Matuak. Despite his wounds, he just kept on coming.

  He raised his hands, and continued casting his attack spells on us. Zack came to my side and nodded to me, and then started casting some kind of attack spell of his own. A purple magic projectile flew from his hand towards Matuak, and got the old wizard in the chest. Then another one. And another. But Matuak still didn't fall.

  So I stepped closer and started hacking at him with my sword. I cut deep into the flesh of his right arm, and then I stabbed him in the chest, yet he didn't fall. Then I raised my sword high above my head, ready to strike at his skull. But then he stepped close to me, his hands took on a white glow, and he grabbed my neck.

  I felt a tremendously powerful force lifting me from the ground and pushing me backwards, and in my surprise, I dropped my sword on the ground. Soon I realized that he was actually pushing me backwards, rushing with me in some direction. Along the way, he caught Zack with his other hand, and he was pushing the both of us backwards. It was astounding to behold his power. Before we knew it, we came dangerously close to the edge of the cliff behind us. Zack's eyes went wide as he realized what Matuak was up to. The old magician stopped some five feet away from the cliff. He stared at us intently, and then lifted us as high above as he could. Then, I felt a powerful force pushing me backwards, and a moment later we were falling over the edge. The last thing I saw before we fell, was Matuak collapsing to the ground.

  *

  `Hang on buddy, I have you.' I told Zack, as we were hanging over a deep pit. I managed to catch a protruding root of some old tree with my right hand, while I was holding Zack's sleeve with my other hand. We were at least twenty feet below the edge of the cliff, and I saw no way to climb out. But for the moment, we were safe. Of course, Zack was none too thrilled with our situation.

  `AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!' he screamed. He was pretty nervous.

  `Hang on, Zack! I've got you steady.'

  `STEADY? YOU CALL THIS STEADY? WE'RE ALMOST IN THE FUCKING ABYSS! THIS AIN'T STEADY IT'S... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!'

  `Whoops... I slipped... But don't worry, I've got you!'

  `IF YOU DROP ME, I SWEAR, I SWEAR, THAT I'LL COME BACK FROM THE DEAD AND BEAT IT DOWN ON YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!'

  `Only if I don't fall to my death, Zack!'

  `IF YOU DIE, I'LL BRING YOU BACK FROM THE DEAD JUST SO I CAN KICK YOUR SORRY ASS!'

  `Shut up and do something already! You're supposed to be the mage, dammit... Get us out of here with your magic!'

  `WELL WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK I'M TRYING TO DO?! I'M TRYING TO CALM DOWN ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO FOCUS! SO STOP ROCKING ME LIKE I WAS SOME FUCKING CRADLE AND MAKE A STEADY HOLD UP THERE!'

  `Why don't you come up here and hold on to the ledge yourself?!'

  `SHUT UP! I NEED TO FOCUS!'

  Then we both went silent, and after a while, he started chanting some magical words. A few moments later, a bright light enveloped us briefly, and the next thing I knew we were standing on solid ground. Not far from us, I saw Matuak's body on the ground, laying on his back.

  `About time, damn it...' I told Zack.

  `Yeah... About fucking time...' came the response. Zack was breathing heavily...

  I retrieved my sword, and we walked to Matuak's fallen body. He was motionless.

  `Is he dead?' I asked.

  Zack moved close and forcefully kicked him in the side. Matuak didn't move.

  `Yeah... Pretty much...' said Zack.

  A moment later, Matuak opened his eyes. Without hesitation, Zack pulled his two lightning wands from his belt and aimed them at Matuak, and I raised my sword high above, ready to strike. By the time Zack fired his wands, I already struck down at Matuak's neck, and the old wizard's head was severed from his neck an instant before the lightning struck his body. I pulled the sword back just in time to avoid getting caught in the lightning, which subsequently made Matuak's decapitated body tremble. A few seconds passed like that, until the lightning dissipated. Matuak did not move any more. I slowly sheathed my sword, and Zack put his wands in his belt. We both sat down on the ground, exhausted.

  We sat there silently for quite a while, until Zack finally broke the silence.

  `Are you still feeling homesick, Danny Boy?'

  `Fuck that shit. I'm outta here... I had enough of Ashkel for the next couple of decades for sure.'

  `So, shall we go back?'

  `No, actually, I was thinking...'

  `Yeah?'

  `How about we pay a visit to Draconia? I always wanted to see that place.'

  `What about the dragons?'

  `They don't scare me!'

  `Good.' he said, nodding. `Because things can turn pretty bad if you meet one and you're too chicken to raise your sword. Of course, I'd say we should try to avoid them. Dragons are very hard to kill.'

  `So, you're in?'

  `Of course I am. Draconia is littered with ancient ruins from the time of the Draconian Brotherhood. We might find some pretty interesting stuff there.'

  I nodded with a smile, and we stood up. We headed for a nearby town, gathered some supplies, and a few days later, Zack teleported us to Draconia, the home of the most magnificent species of our world. The home of the dragons.

  Bleak future

  Coldrock, present day (10 hours after Twilightfall)

  We step out of the Portal and the familiar view of Coldrock greets us. Finally!

  `We made it! About fucking time!' I exclaim, and close the Portal behind us.

  `You didn't like it on the other side?' she asks.

  `Did you?'

  `It was intriguing, to be honest. I had not seen it before.'

  `If you ask me, no world is more boring than the Afterlife. I've seen hundreds of worlds, trust me, I know what I'm talking about...

  Anyway, let's go! We don't...'

  `I know. We don't have a second to waste. Lead on.' she says, sounding sarcastic. She sounds like she's angry at me. No matter. The clock's ticking...

  *

  As I walk towards the Beheaded Buddy Tavern, she curiously observes the ruined town.

  `What happened here?'

  `Just a little accident. Don't worry about it.'

  Suddenly I stop as I notice something. About fifty feet from the tavern there is a large pile of logs. Next to it, is a corpse. The corpse of a large creature with smooth reddish skin and four goat-horns on its head. A demon corpse...

  Fuck this shit...

  I look up to the sky. I see the twilight. I see the crimson sparkles as well... They are all over Arghard, not just above Draconia...

  `You fucking idiot, did you do this on purpose or did you simply fuck up worse than I ever imagined you could? The fucking demons must be all over Arghard by now...'

  `What?' asks Irea, as I say this to myself aloud.

  `Never mind.' I tell her. `Let's go.'

  I kick the tavern door open and step into the tavern. I look around, seeking Errak, but I don't see his pale face anywhere.

  `Errak! Where the fuck are you?' I exclaim, but he is nowhere to be found. Two dozen orcs are scattered around in the tavern, but Errak ain't here.

  `I think he's downstairs, Boss!' says one of the orcs.

  `Well go tell him to get the fuck up here!'

  `Right on, Boss!'

  He vanishes beneath the stairs leading to the concert hall, and returns in a minute or so with Errak.

  `Hey, Zack!' says Errak. `Back so soon? What's up?'

  `We have to talk!' I tell him, and I walk out
of the tavern. He and Irea follow me.

  `Well, what's this about?' he asks.

  `First... When did that fucking piece of shit end up here?' I ask, pointing at the demon corpse.

  `Oh, that. Couple of hours ago. We started rebuilding the town, but then this creature showed up out of nowhere. It took a while to kill it. But don't worry, we'll clean it up!'

  `Ignore it, Errak... There is a bigger problem.'

  `What problem?'

  `We have to leave. This whole fucking world is going down faster than a ship that's got a thirty foot wide hole in the hull. We gotta jump ship before it sinks.'

  `Huh? What do you mean?' he asks, surprised.

  `Look. I have no time to explain. Have you noticed the twilight?'

  `Yeah. It just doesn't seem to wanna go away. Been like that all day. Pretty strange weather...'

  `It's not just some crazy weather, Errak! It is the Afterlife! The world of the dead is swallowing our world...'

  `What?' he asks, sounding doubtful. `How could that possibly happen?'

  `I don't know, but it's happening. We have to leave. Tell everyone to march to the ruined tower. We will escape through the Gateway.'

  `Listen, Zack. We can't just leave. Coldrock is our home.'

  `If you stay, you'll just die. You have to leave.'

  `Can't you stop this shit? You're a powerful mage! You can do it!'

  `No I can't. I am not of limitless power, fuck it! I don't even know what the fuck is causing all this.'

  `Well, find out!'

  `How the fuck am I supposed to do that?!'

  `I don't know! You're the mage! Figure it out!'

  `Listen, you fucking moron...'

  `No, you listen, Zack! I like you, I really do, but right now you're acting like a dumb fuck! You just don't get it. This is our home! We can't just abandon it.'

  `If you don't, you'll die with the rest of this world.'

  `We would die fighting for our home, Zack. That's something you cannot understand. You never cared about this world, you always said your home was among the Planes. You don't know what it's like to truly belong somewhere, to have a home that you'd defend at any cost.'