by Faith Naff
Valdin put a heavy hand upon her shoulder. “Medowgold is already lost,” he admitted. “We were all simply too blind to see it. None of the humans are fighting back. They have no army to defend them and we can’t hope to be enough to drive out these creatures.” A loud thud sounded beside them as a tall shadow beast landed on the ground from atop the remains of another burning home. Its massive body was covered in the blood of innocent, slain humans and its glowing eyes burned with hunger for more.
Valdin rose to his feet and met the creature half way in its attempt to strike them down. A flash of steel and a horrifying shriek ensured its demise. Valdin shook the creature’s blood and entrails from his sword before returning to his knees beside Shimmer. “We must go now,” he insisted. “The village is overrun.”
“But we…”
“There’s nothing more we can do here. The structures are crumbling all around us and most of the people have already fled into the forest.”
Shimmer looked down at the tiny human girl in her arms. She watched as the tears fell from her eyes and soaked the stuffed doll in her arms. She wondered if the child would ever find her family again, if they were even still alive. She didn’t want to admit it, but Valdin was right. The battle for Medowgold was clearly over and lost, but the war for the Lady’s forest continued on and they were the all the vital pieces that held the only hope of victory.
Valdin placed a crooked finger beneath Shimmer’s chin and lifted her crying eyes up to meet his. “We’ll get her out of here,” he said. “But there’s nothing more we can do for this village.” Valdin helped Shimmer to her feet as she took the crying child in her arms. Together they raced through the ransacked streets of Medowgold, passing quickly by scores of destroyed homes and the slain bodies of humans they were too late to save. All around them the fires burned, the victims screamed, and the great village of Medowgold fell to the horrors of the blight.
Chapter XX
The march east from Medowgold towards the mountains was a somber one. With their clothes and armor filthy, their skin and hair covered in blood, and their hearts burdened with defeat, Shimmer and her fellow travelers pushed on to Stonemouth and, hopefully, the last of the Lady’s destined. They had wanted so badly to help the humans of Medowgold, but the battle was truly over before it even began. The army of shadow beasts had fallen upon them like a sudden, violent storm and all any of them could do was try to escape before it consumed them.
The young girl Shimmer rescued in the city was put into the care of a group of human refugees hiding out amongst the trees. With the child to care for, the humans made their way north to try to escape the blight. Shimmer told herself that the girl would be reunited with her family and that they would escape to the living forest until the Vehlrock was defeated. It was likely not true, but she had to find some way of staying positive and staving off the blight’s dark, hope-depleting influence. Lying to herself seemed as good a method as any.
Rosewood also had much to contemplate as they continued on down the road. Watching the displaced humans trek off through the trees carrying only what they were lucky enough to escape with made her think of the elves of Moon-hollow. She wondered where her people were and if they were safe, but with the blight’s terrible influence seeping into her mind, all she could think was the worst.
“I’ve got an idea,” Cricket said as he fluttered down into the center of the group. “Instead of us all silently contemplating whatever horrible thoughts the blight is filling our heads with, let’s address the real question that none of us have asked yet.”
“What are you talking about?” Rosewood asked.
Cricket landed on Shimmer’s shoulder. “I’m talking about the seed,” he said. “We all know that thing shouldn’t have grown. If the Lady’s power can’t enter the blight, how could the seed have taken root in dead soil?”
“He’s right,” Valdin said. “I’m sure we’re all grateful for the results but that doesn’t make them any less baffling. Could it be that the Lady actually…?”
“No,” Rosewood stated boldly. “She is not here. She never was. I can promise you that.”
“Then what caused the seed’s magic to work?” Snowflake asked. “It must have been something.” Silence fell over the forest as each of them replayed the moment in their minds. Kadek had planted his seed to no avail, just as they all expected. The beasts flanked them while they were distracted and Kadek was injured. Kadek fell, Shimmer and Snowflake looked after him while he healed, and…”
“The blood!” Shimmer and Snowflake shouted in unison.
“What are you talking about?” Valdin asked.
“When the blight creature attacked Kadek, his blood spilled out onto the ground where he planted the seed,” Shimmer explained.
“So?” Cricket asked.
“Kadek is one of the destined,” Shimmer continued. “The Lady told us that the blood of the destined had special powers that could help end the blight.”
“It’s certainly better than any other explanation I can think of,” Rosewood admitted.
“I thought it took the blood of all the destined.” Cricket said. “Isn’t that what we were told from the start? If not, then why are we going to Stonemouth? Let’s just head right into the heart of the blight and end this thing.”
“No,” Valdin stated boldly. “If the Lady decrees it then we will adhere. All of the destined must be gathered.”
“She said that the blood of all the destined was required to bring her army into the blight,” Shimmer reminded everyone.
“What does that even mean, by the way?” Cricket asked as he lifted off back into the air. “What army was she talking about and what will we need it for?”
“You can’t be serious,” Rosewood scoffed. “You’ve seen the creatures under the Vehlrock’s command. If we’ve encountered this many at the edge of the blight, imagine how many must be at its heart.”
Snowflake felt a cold chill run up her spine. She hadn’t given it any thought but Rosewood was correct. At the Vehlrock’s side there could be hundreds, possibly thousands of those dark creatures waiting. “If we’re going up against a legion of those shadow beasts, an army of our own would certainly help.”
“But we still don’t know how to summon this army,” Cricket snapped. “Unless Shimmer’s invisible tree friend mentioned something she’s not telling us.”
Shimmer shook her head and, at the same time, shook off Cricket’s annoyingly rude comment. “Wyndelle mentioned nothing about it.”
They were moving into the mountains now and the terrain was getting both steeper and more treacherous with each step. Large boulders obstructed the path, forcing them to either climb over them or squeeze through narrow and treacherous crevasses between them.
These obstacles were greatly slowing their progress and giving the blight more ways to play tricks on their minds as each obstacle required crossing one at a time. As Shimmer slid down into the crack of a large, split boulder blocking their path, she suddenly felt compelled to look behind her, convinced one of her friends was plotting to sneak up behind her and slit her throat. It was a ridiculous notion, but one that entered her mind nonetheless.
At the base of the split stone, Shimmer’s feet once again touched down on the dry, dusty ground. All of these peaks and valleys, coupled with the numerous natural obstacles were making this leg of the journey quite tiresome. She could only hope that the road the Moon-hollow refugees had taken wasn’t quite so difficult. If the elders had been forced to bring the sick, the wounded, the old, and the feeble through such conditions then the blight would have caught up to them for sure. It was not a thought that brought her much hope, especially in this place where despair was so abundant.
Valdin’s feet touched down on the ground next to Shimmer with a soft thud. The noise of his impact startled Shimmer. With her mind ensnared by the dark influence of the blight, Shimmer’s immediate reaction was to act as though under attack. Valdin was lucky to catch Shimmer’s arm as she quickly spun around whi
le drawing her sword, all the while imagining some unspeakable horror behind her.
“Whoa!” Valdin shouted as his palm stopped Shimmer’s elbow from swinging around. “Easy now, it’s just me.”
Panting from fright and confusion, Shimmer released her grip on the sword and let it crash down into the dust at their feet. Tears began to well up behind her eyes as she fell forward into Valdin’s arms. The blight was already taking its toll on her mind and, with all of the Lands of Order now consumed within its reach, there was nowhere to go for relief. “I can’t do this,” Shimmer said meekly. “It’s all too much. It’s just too much.”
Valdin gently stroked the back of Shimmer’s head. “I know how you feel,” he said warmly. “It all seems so overwhelming.”
“How can we possibly hope to defeat all of… this?!” she asked. “The whole forest is against us now. There is nowhere left to turn. Even the Lady cannot help us anymore.”
“You’re wrong,” Valdin replied. “The Lady is here with us, even now.”
Shimmer lifted her head from Valdin’s chest. “We both know that’s not true,” she said. Another thud sounded behind them as Rosewood lowered herself onto the ground. Snowflake was still within the crevasse trying to navigate poor Kadek through. Their centaurian companion was nearly too large to fit as it was and his hooves weren’t exactly well suited for navigating around boulders.
Valdin smiled. “But it is true,” he said. “The Lady lives in all of us. She is the spirit of life and we are all a part of her.”
“He’s right, Shimmer,” Rosewood said as she joined the conversation. She hadn’t been present when they began, but it wasn’t difficult to figure out what the problem was. She was sure they were all feeling the same thing in one way or another. “I may not carry her magic into the blight, but I carry the strength, wisdom, and fortitude she’s blessed me with.”
Shimmer nodded with a little smile. Valdin placed a gentle hand on the side of her face.
“The Lady is always with us,” Valdin said confidently. “She has always been there for us and now we must be there for her. We will take the gifts she has bestowed us with and venture into the darkness to do her work. We carry her with us, and if we can carry her into a place like this, imagine what else we can do.”
Shimmer’s eyes suddenly shot open. “That’s it,” she said in a frantic whisper.
“What’s it?” Snowflake asked as she and Kadek finally made it down off the boulder. “What are you all talking about?”
“The Lady said that the blood of the destined was required to bring forth her army within the blight,” Shimmer said.
“We know,” Rosewood responded. “We were all there.”
“Don’t you see?” Shimmer asked. “When Kadek’s blood spilled upon the seed, it grew even within the blight.” She quickly untied the bag of seeds from her waist and opened it up. Even in the dark, nearly colorless world of the blighted forest, the seeds still glowed with a brilliant, golden sparkle. She had never given much thought to it before, but there were far more seeds in the bag than they would have ever needed for their own use; thousands more.
“This is it,” Shimmer said with surety. “This must be the army of the Lady.”
“So let me get this straight,” Cricket chimed in. “You think if we spill our blood on those seeds and put them in the ground then they’ll grow into an army?”
“It’s our best theory so far,” Rosewood admitted.
“But an army of what?” Kadek asked.
“I guess we won’t know until we try,” Valdin said. “But we can’t do that until we find our missing dwarf.”
“He’s right,” Rosewood agreed. “Onward to Stonemouth.”
The dwarven city of Stonemouth was visible to Shimmer and the others long before they reached it. The wilted leaves upon the branches above created a sparse canopy that barely obscured the towering stone city on the side of the cliff. One whole side of the mountain was completely bare, leaving a surface of hard granite stretching from peak to base. It was this stone that the dwarves spent hundreds of years digging, chipping, chiseling, and blasting to form, not just one, but an entire community of structures.
All of the homes, shops, and other structures were hollowed out from within the stone, set into rows that tiered backwards from the base of the mountain to the summit. Between the tiers, an elaborate maze of stairs and ladders connected the entire dwarven city. At the highest peak stood the large, opulent dwelling of the dwarven lord with its large archway and elaborate artwork chiseled into the cliff face, visible even from the base. As magnificent and awe inspiring as Stonemouth was, there was one glaring problem that none of them could help but notice.
“Where are all the dwarves?” Snowflake asked.
“They must have evacuated before the blight arrived,” Rosewood suggested. “Our people from Moon-hollow would have traveled through here. Perhaps they were able to warn the dwarves in time.”
“Not likely,” Cricket interjected. “The dwarves are almost as stubborn as those damn trotters.” He stole a quick glance at Kadek who stood behind him. “No offense.”
“Well, they must have gone somewhere,” Kadek said.
“Look!” Shimmer shouted as she rushed over to a small dwelling at the base of the mountain. Reaching the stone structure, Shimmer dropped to her knees and examined a strange marking on the surface that had caught her attention. Unrecognizable from a distance, she could now see a smeared, bloody handprint running down the smooth rock.
“Is that…?” Snowflake began.
“Something isn’t right here,” Rosewood stated with worry. Further inspection of the village base revealed more signs of struggle. Blood smears were everywhere and the small but broad skeletal remains of fallen dwarves littered the streets.
“What happened here?” Shimmer questioned as she surveyed the heartbreaking scene that surrounded her. “Did the shadow creatures attack here, too?”
“Unlikely,” Valdin said while he studied the skeleton of a dwarven male at his feet. There was crude, broad scarring on the surface of the bones, as though they were the leftovers from a large meal. “This carnage came before the blight even reached Stonemouth.”
“Then what?” Snowflake asked.
Valdin suddenly stood up straight. His eyes fluttered wildly under closed lids as he reached out his palms to either side of his body. He was sensing something.
“What is it?” Shimmer asked with worry. “Is something coming?”
Valdin’s eyes flew open again and he quickly drew his sword. “Yes,” he said. “And quickly.” Everyone’s eyes darted around wildly as they drew their weapons. Valdin’s intuitions had never steered them wrong before and any sense of danger he picked up was definitely a cause for alarm.
“What’s coming?” Snowflake asked. “Is it more shadow beasts?” Her question soon answered itself as a loud, deep roar echoed across the trees and against the side of the mountain. The sound struck terror into their hearts, but only Valdin recognized it.
“Dragons,” he said with worry. Another roar sounded through the forest, shaking loose a few rocks in the city of Stonemouth and sending them tumbling to the base of the mountain. From high above them came a sudden burst of wind as the sounds of massive wings flapping against the air whooshed past their ears.
“Is that…?” Snowflake began before a loud crash from the side of the mountain drowned her trembling voice. A shower of tiny stones cascaded down the sloping streets of Stonemouth as a massive dragon landed against the cliff. It was a sinister looking creature standing roughly seventy feet tall and covered with shining black scales like rows of spikes. It’s long, serpent-like neck wiped back and forth as its long claws dug down into the rocks like they were as soft as soil. The dragon had a slender head like a lizard with a pair of long, thick horns protruding from its crown. The menacing creature was soon joined by another dragon that landed beside it on the cliff face.
“Lady’s grace!” Rosewood said as she lif
ted her sword. She’d never seen such creatures, but had heard of them in tales from the Harmonious that wandered the forest. Dragons populated the southern reaches of the mountains, but the blight must have pushed them north. A sudden onslaught of dragons had likely chased the dwarves away long before the blight arrived in Stonemouth. The real question was what happened to her escaping elves?
Another roar sounded from behind the mountain as another of the creatures crawled over the summit like a lizard over a large rock. The three dragons glared down at them menacingly. Lady only knew what the blight was doing to the minds of these creatures. They were likely trapped here by their own inner nightmares. These small creatures cowering at the base of the cliff were likely the first edible things the dragons had come across in a while.
“What do we do?” Shimmer asked in a whisper. She couldn’t take her eyes off of the terrifying faces bearing down on her. One of the dragons suddenly leapt from its perch upon the side of the mountain and landed only a few yards away from them, shaking the ground violently. The creature towered over them, blocking out the sun and making the blight feel even colder. It let out a low growl as it took a step towards her. Twin plumes of smoke rose from its nostrils as its large teeth showed below a pair of curled lips.
Valdin lifted his blade in front of him as he stepped in front of Shimmer, shielding her from an enemy he had no hope of defeating. He’d engaged a dragon before, and even defeated it, but it was only one and he’d barely escaped with his life. Facing this trio of beasts, driven mad by hunger and the blight, all they could do was flee, and they would likely not escape with their lives.
A series of tremors shook the ground as the other two dragons landed upon the blighted soil. With the enormous creatures standing together, their entire view of the mountain was obscured. All they could see were the three horrible monsters towering before them.
“We have to run!” Rosewood shouted in alarm. “There’s no other way!”
“We’ll never escape,” Valdin said. The blade in his hand was actually shaking from fear. The fast reflexes of a dragon were not to be underestimated.
