He swam as hard as he could. The debris from his apartment floated all around him. Part of his couch and then his chairs, and even his bed floated past him, but none of that mattered. They were objects; they could be replaced; however Chad, his best friend, could not. The land from the cliff, which had fallen into the ocean, had created a murky mist within the water and James had great difficulty seeing anything.
Try as he might he could not find him. He searched every inch of the rubble but found nothing. He came to the surface for more breath on more than one occasion and then sank back into the depths of the ocean to continue his search, but it was to no avail. Chad was nowhere to be found…
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Three sausages sizzled over a campfire. They were held over the fire by a long stick fork held by the dwarf Fargrim. He and the princess had set up camp deep within the heartland of Fayville, just outside the stronghold of Kanto’s domain in the realm of Underworld. Fayville was a castle of ancient ruins. It had not always been so. Long ago, before the times of even the Great War, Fayville was a prosperous and healthy kingdom. Although not being loyal to Kanto, the people of Fayville had reluctantly accepted his rule. However, rumours of an uprising against the king led to Kanto reducing the people of Fayville to the ashes the kingdom had now become.
Kara huddled close to the fire in an attempt to keep warm. Her body was not accustomed to the cold that came with the constant darkness of this realm.
“Another few minutes and supper will be ready m’lady,” said the dwarf. The princess didn’t’ answer him. Fargrim picked up on the princess’s shivering body and removed his cloak, which happened to be made of thick animal skin. “Here, put this on.”
“What about you?” Kara replied. She was reluctant to accept Fargrim’s cloak if it meant him going cold in her place.
“Ha! Not to worry,” said the dwarf, who didn’t sound the least but concerned. “My body is more accustomed to this climate than you. Here take it!” Kara reluctantly accepted the dwarfs kind offer.
The princess felt a little guilty as she put the animal skin around her. The warmth of the fur felt soothing on her skin and she snuggled into it. He will go cold. He is just saying that to make me feel better. “Are you sure you’ll be ok?” she asked, making sure one last time if it was ok for her to wear the cloak.
“Yes, m’lady. People from this realm are very resilient to the cold, especially dwarfs!”
“Then why do you wear this?” asked Kara.
The dwarf thought for a moment. “Ha. I don’t really know! Just like animal skin I suppose!”
Kara thought the dwarf was a little strange at times. During the long journey, he had been both a bundle of laughs and also very grumpy. He reminds me of Auron when he is in a grumpy mood. She thought it amusing to imagine Auron being the size of the dwarf and being annoyed with her. She had often giggled to herself during the journey when thinking about this and the dwarf had sometimes noticed. He hadn’t said anything though. Maybe he thinks I’m strange too. Or maybe he thinks I’m laughing at him? She hoped he never thought the latter. For the moment, however, she didn’t care. The animal skin had increased her body temperature in a matter of moments and she could no longer feel the bitter cold that had been ravaging her body.
A horse lay sleeping on the outskirts of the camp. A few hours earlier, Fargrim had ‘borrowed’ the horse from the farmlands just beyond the lands of the Forsaken. He hadn’t simply stolen the horse mind you; the dwarf had left five gold coins for the farmer to soften the blow. He was like that you see. It was very rare to see such courteous behaviour in a land like Underworld, however, dwarfs were the exception in this world. They openly disliked the rule of the king, and although they were not willing, or able to stand against Kanto, they still upheld their own noble values. The horse was a pale white and Kara had decided to call him Silver.
A howling noise filled the sky high above their campsite to the west. Fargrim and the princess looked in the direction of a large selection of mountains to the western region. The howl had made its way from there, with the help of the wind. The dwarf’s eyes narrowed and he tugged on his beard. He had heard that wretched howl before. Kara was not familiar with such things. In her native Alexandria, there were few creatures that would make such a sound. They did have wolves though and they tended to howl every so often. Kara naturally thought that the cry was that of a wolf.
“I didn’t know there were wolves in this realm,” said Kara.
The dwarf chuckled.
“What are you laughing at?”
“Wolves? We should be so lucky!” said Fargrim.
“Then what is it?”
“They are what we call in these parts…Hellhounds,” said the dwarf who gulped as he spoke the creature’s name. Kara gave a hint of a smile. She was very curious when hearing the name. Her father had told her stories about the mythology of these creatures from the dark realm, however, she had never encountered a person who had been in contact with one.
The princess leaned forward, almost in excitement. “Tell me about them Fargrim. What are they like?” “What are you so happy about?” asked the dwarf, a look of confusion was edged on his face. Fargrim knew the beasts were not to be meddled with. They were spawns of evil, nesting in the volcanic mountains to the west. The mountains were a terrain consisting of hundreds of volcanoes. Red sparkles that the pair could see high above the mountains were actually pieces of lava flickering above the volcano peaks. The Hellhounds nested there, breeding in vast numbers. They devoured any that crossed into their boundaries. Once a Hellhound locked onto your scent, they had it for life. They could track and hunt a person from whatever distance or location their prey took itself. If you were to encounter a Hellhound you had better kill it, for it would hunt you for the rest of your days. Fargrim knew this fact only too well and this was the cause of his fear.
Fargrim had wanted to avoid contact with the Hellhounds at all costs. “I hope you never do get to see them with your own eyes my dear, for both our sakes,” said the dwarf.
“They can’t be any worse than those Forsaken creatures we ran into a couple of days ago,” replied the princess.
“Ha! You ain’t seen nothing yet!” said Fargrim. “Now get some sleep m’lady. We’ll be setting off in a few hours. Best to get some rest while you can.”
Kara nodded, she did feel tired. She hardly ever ventured out of the castle, never mind traveling across an entire land. Her feet were blistered and sore, but she never complained. She knew this journey would be tough from the moment she agreed to go. But she had come too far to give up. She had to find out the truth about the strange boy in her dreams. She was determined to succeed!
With those thoughts, Kara bid the dwarf goodnight and rested her head against a small log of wood, which she had placed part of her robe on to create a pillow. She felt it strange going to sleep in a land that was the black of darkness at all times. In some regions of the land where they had ventured, it made no difference whether she had opened or closed her eyes. The darkness had remained the same. She had always been afraid of the dark, what little of it she had seen in Alexandria. Now she found herself in an entire world of darkness. Having Fargrim with her made it easier, though. She already owed him a great deal of gratitude. I will pay him handsomely upon our return to Alexandria, she told herself. If I ever return to Alexandria that is…
Fargrim did not set down for bed, instead the dwarf kept watch over the camp. He kept a keen eye on the volcanic mountains to the west, hoping that their presence in the area had gone unnoticed.
Kara lay with her eyes closed for a few moments before opening them once more. As hard as she tried she could not sleep. She thought of her father, the king. The princess knew that he would likely have discovered she was missing by now. She began to feel a little guilty about leaving him. She knew he would be worried. He will have the entire kingdom out searching for me. She contemplated sending a message back to the king to let him know that she was ok, however, she qui
ckly dropped the idea, realising that her father would be able to track the origin of the message, leading him straight to her.
She couldn’t let that happen, at least not yet. Kara didn’t want anyone, not even the king, to interfere with her quest. Whilst pondering on this, as well as many other things, the princesses eyes began to get heavier and heavier and finally her body began to shut down and she fell asleep. Fargrim looked at the princess while she slept and couldn’t help but think that she looked so much at peace. The dwarf wished that he could find that tranquillity. Maybe one day old boy, thought Fargrim.
Kara opened up her eyes. It felt as though she had slept for days. She sat up on her camp bed and wiped her eyes. The fire at the campsite had extinguished and visibility in the camp was minimal, especially with her eyes that were only used to the daylight. However, even with her hampered sight, Kara could sense that something was not quite right here. The campsite had been trashed. All of the supplies had been scattered around the area and it looked as though a number of people had not so long ago been present within the camp. One would not be mistaken to think that there was mass panic at the campsite not so long ago.
This could not be possible though surely. Kara could not have slept through such an event, or so she thought. She stood up from the area in which she had been sleeping and slowly made her way around the stricken campsite. Another thing that quickly caught the princesses’ attention was that Fargrim was nowhere to be seen. What has happened to him? I hope he is ok. Kara began to call out to the dwarf but to no avail. The girl stood in deadly silence for a few moments, pondering what might have happened to her small friend. Has he abandoned me? No! He would never do that…
A small selection of bushes rustled from behind the princess. The sound startled the girl and she gasped, quickly turning around. The princess stared at the bushes, of which the leaves began to rustle once more.
Two red dots appeared through the leaves. Kara took a couple of backward steps and began to breathe a little heavier. A growling sound came from behind the leaves, similar to that which Kara and Fargrim had heard a few hours earlier, only now much fiercer and louder. Kara looked on, her face filled with terror. “Hello?” she said nervously. The red dots from behind the leaves were becoming larger and now the mist of cold breath was visible from beyond the leaves.
Then, the identity of the creature lurking behind the bushes was revealed. Through the leaves emerged a Hellhound, much to the horror of Kara. Dark brown fur covered the muscle ripped body of the beast, which was around the size of a wolf or large dog. The creature had two bright red eyes that were fully focused on the Alexandrian princess. The Hellhound possessed a particularly long tail, which was longer than the length of the creature’s body. The tip of the beast’s tail matched the colour of its eyes, and a small amount of smoke came from it. The tail of a Hellhound was a dangerous weapon. The tip was actually encased in lava, moulded directly from the volcanoes in which they nested. They used them to scold their enemies and also to cut open flesh, that is after they had finished draining the blood of their victims first. Yes, very unpleasant creatures were Hellhounds.
The beast walked slowly as it lowered its head to just above the ground in a stalking fashion. It recognized the scent of an Alexandrian and the creature licked its lips in anticipation. The Hellhound raised its head up and howled into the sky. The princess turned in order to run but she had nowhere to run as another Hellhound emerged from the shadows. Then another emerged from her left and then a forth jumped out from behind a rock to her right. The princess was trapped like a rat. The Hellhounds seemed to thrive from Kara’s fear, feeding on it as they approached.
The Hellhounds began to circle the princess, who desperately looked for a way out. However, there was no water near the campsite to aid her. If the element had been nearby, she could have used it to escape. There was no water to save the girl this time like there had been back in the Forsaken lands. The Hellhound that appeared first growled as it readied to strike. Kara held her hands over her eyes as she prepared for the creature to attack. The Hellhound bared its teeth, crouching down and then in an instant it lunged forward.
The Hellhound landed on the blade of a small battle-axe, the axe of Fargrim. The dwarf stood before the princess on horseback. He jumped off the horse and stood in a battle stance. “Get on the horse, quick!” he urged.
The princess quickly mounted on Silver’s back as Fargrim fought off the three remaining Hellhounds. Dwarfs were skilled fighters and Fargrim was a fierce dwarf warrior.
“Fargrim come on. Get on the horse,” said Kara who was ready to make her escape.
The Dwarf fought with all his might to fight off the beasts long enough for him to mount the horse, but the three of them overpowered him. One of the Hellhounds sunk its teeth into Fargrim’s ribs. He cried out in pain as his weapon dropped to the ground.
“Fargrim!” cried Kara in horror, as the Hellhounds mounted on him, each taking chunks of flesh out of the dwarf’s body. Fargrim managed to turn to the princess and utter his final words.
“Ride SouthWest. Go…”
Kara thought about trying to help him, but she knew she was no match for the savage creatures who had now all but mauled the dwarf to death. With tears streaming down her face, it was with the deepest regret that she turned and fled on the horse in the direction that Fargrim had told her.
The princess cried uncontrollably as she rode away from the scene of the dwarfs demise. A great howl sounded out from over the girl’s shoulder…it seemed she was not out of danger yet. A group of Hellhounds emerged from over the hill from which Kara had rode, they were possibly up to twenty in number. Kara kicked her heels hard into Silver. The princess did not wish to harm the animal, however, if she was to survive the onslaught of the creatures, then she would need every ounce of speed the horse could muster.
The Hellhounds were relentless in their pursuit, chasing in their pack. Until they had feasted on the flesh of the dwarf, the beasts had not fed for days out in the wastelands of Underworld. They were not so willing to let fresh meat slip out of their grasp so easily. They ran at roughly the same pace as the horse, however, their stamina was known to be far greater. And so they chased her. The pursuit progressed for over five hours through mountains and farmlands and then derelict ruins. There were many times that the Hellhounds were so close to Kara that she could feel the warmth of their breath on her skin. Finally, the chase led to the Marshlands in the southwest region of Underworld.
Many of the Hellhounds perished during this stage of the chase, sinking to their deaths as they took a wrong step into the unforgiving marshlands. Silver seemed sure-footed within the marshlands though and he rode the princess through at a much slower pace on a safer path through the middle of the marsh. A few remaining Hellhounds would not be deterred though and they never trailed far behind.
After two hours of slow negation of the marshlands, the pursuit got up to full speed once more as Kara continued on the southwest path as per Fargrim’s instructions. The Hellhounds were now closer than ever and the princess could see Silver was beginning to tire. In the far distance, loomed a large forest. As Kara rode, she thought that it was the most unappetizing looking forest she had ever seen. This was the Dark Forest of Underworld. The girl had read about the legends of this place in the library back at the palace. Almost all of those who entered the forest never came out. Some had named the place the Cursed Forest or the Forest of Death.
She pondered this thought for a few moments, but the truth was she had no choice. Her only hope now was for her and Silver, whom she had grown very attached to now, to hide in the forest in the hope that the Hellhounds would either give up or run into the deadly creatures that legend said awaited inside the woodlands. Kara knew this meant she too would be at the mercy of any such creatures, however, there seemed no other option.
The Princess set off into the unknown of the Dark Forest. The Hellhounds seemed hesitant to follow and waited just outside the forest bo
undaries. They sniffed the air and hesitated, almost as if they caught the scent of death.
They fear this forest as much as I do, the princess realised. Kara had not advanced very far inside of the woods when her horse fell to the ground, fatigued from the hours of running. The girl cried out as she was sent tumbling into the stump of a large tree.
She took her time getting up, slowly pulling herself to her feet with the aid of a few low branches. Cuts and graziers covered the girl’s body and her clothes became badly torn during her fall. She looked around for Silver, wondering what had caused the horse to fall. She spotted her fallen companion a little further back on the forest pathway. Her fall had sent her hurling quite a distance. Kara began to make her way toward the horse, but as she put weight onto her left ankle, a painful sensation sent her falling to the ground once more.
The princess had done some serious damage to her ankle during the fall. It was heavily twisted. Kara managed to hobble over to her fallen horse. As she approached, the sound of faint growling could be heard in the distance. It seemed that some of the Hellhounds had overcome their fear and entered the forest after all. They had already locked onto Kara’s scent and were cautiously proceeding through the trees towards her.
The princess knew she stood no chance of evading the beasts on foot, especially given the fact she could barely walk due to the condition of her ankle. The only way she would be able to escape the creatures was with the aid of Silver. Speaking of the horse, the poor animal hadn’t lost it’s footing on the rough terrain which might have caused it to fall. This is what the princess had originally thought had happened, however upon examining the horse, it appeared that Silver had collapsed due to sheer exhaustion. After all, the horse had been forced to gallop for hours without any rest.
Clash Of Worlds Page 36
