by Peter Plasse
Knowing that the coalition forces were going to have to gain access to the flat in front of the main gate by fighting their way up single-file, the Trolls dropped off a sizable contingent to the south to defend this position. This had the effect of dramatically lessening the attackers to the front who, despite no let-up whatsoever in the ferocity of their assault, had not managed to breach the Wall to any significant degree. Apparently the labors of Stephanie and her throng of followers had gone a long way towards improving the defensibility of the structure after all. Troll after Troll was methodically cut down by the archers as they walked around in a confused state, not knowing what they should be doing. In time the great rent in the Wall became free enough of attackers so that they were able to wheel two of the cannons up to the gate itself where they pointed them out through small holes that they had already cut days before, aiming them towards the Trolls on the far side of the flat. Soon, round after round began to rake the backs of them. Even with all the smoke, it became evident that their ranks were beginning to thin. There was hope!
Nobody, except Maxilius Bravarus, was aware when Stephanie awoke. Without a word, she threw off the blanket that covered her and stood up.
Maxilius, his eyes wide, asked, “Are you all right?”
“Yes,” she answered calmly. “Quite. Thank you for asking.”
Strapping on her sword, and placing her daggers in the tops of each boot, she walked down the short hallway in front of her room. She turned left at the end and, coning down her vision, surveyed the carnage hundreds of feet below her and off in the distance out beyond the top of the Great Wall. Suddenly furious, she leapt up onto the short wall in front of her and stepped off … into thin air … and was rewarded by a flight that years later would be remembered as “Stephanie’s Great Leap.” Screaming downward as might a falcon pursuing prey, she soared with lightning speed over the tops of the trees and all the way to the Wall, landing atop it with perfect control.
Cupping her hands in front of her, she screamed,
“Enough!!!”
The sound was dreadful and caused every soldier to drop, holding his ears.
All looked up at her.
She extended her arms in front of her, and from her fingertips shot forth a firestorm of red-hot flames, tearing into the earth a smoking trench, easily ten feet wide, that she directed closer and closer to the Troll army on the far side of the large clearing. When she got within twenty feet of them, she stopped and bellowed,
“Lay down your weapons, all of you. Anybody who does not, will burn.”
In case anybody doubted her ability to do as she said, she directed a massive discharge towards one of the mountaintops miles in the distance, cleaving off a monstrous section. In seconds, smoke was all that remained of the giant promontory.
Then she aimed one at the giant breach, melting the stone as though it were candle wax. Weaving the deadly fire back and forth, she repaired the defect in a matter of minutes.
“It is over!” she shrieked like a person gone mad. She kept her arms extended in front of her as if daring anyone to disobey her, then,
“Everybody stop fighting. Stop fighting … or … I… will … kill … you … all!”
Warriors from both sides wasted no time in disarming themselves. Weapons were cast aside like yesterday’s rubbish. All knew that a power had been unleashed upon them that was beyond anything they could possibly imagine, and even the primitive minds of the Trolls understood the concept of impossible, so the fight that had gone on for three days now ended in an instant.
Thousands that day stood in silence. It was over. Now what to do?
Some of the Trolls started talking amongst themselves about the long march home. Massive Trolls could be seen hugging skinny Gnomes. It might have been comical, if not for the carnage all around them. It was a sight.
Stephanie, standing on the Great Wall, never having lowered her arms, roared,
“Bring the Emperor of Slova to the … the Throne Room of the castle! The one named Leopold Malance Venomisis. Have him caged. And have him there within the hour.”
She walked to the edge of the Wall, once again stepping off into thin air, and soared on the wings of the the Bindu-ward art of magic and spell over the awe-stricken troops below.
In a dead upright position, she slowly floated forward, calling out praise to the valiant Ravenwild soldiers. Then, in a neck-bending arc, she swooped up so fast there was a loud boom in the air. She finished with a dizzying loop and flew back to the castle, setting down in the same stone hallway outside of the room in which she had spent her second Bindu-trance in the way of the Bindu-ward art of magic and spell. Now it was time for her third, and she barely made it to the edge of the bed, where she collapsed in a sweat. Maxilius Bravarus tenderly placed her in the cot in a comfortable sleeping position and removed her boots.
In an hour’s time he was all smiles as Jessica and Blake ran up the short hallway at a sprint, stopping short when they spied him in the doorway “She sleeps,” he said, “as before. She did well, no?”
“Yes,” said Jessica, moving to her bedside, “She was magnificent.”
Blake, too astonished to speak, nodded his agreement.
A band of Gnome soldiers attempted to roughhouse their way past Maxilius, one of them saying, “We know her. We know him. We have traveled with them. Please, get out of my way, kind Sir. Thank you.”
Jessica ran straight out to them, her face beaming as she embraced each in turn, Captain Pilrick, Oddwaddle, Ubri, and Bramwith. All gathered around her and the hugging continued, Jessica holding them all close and kissing each of them again and again, after which she introduced everybody.
“Captain Pilrick. We have learned a lot from each other. I shall forever be grateful for all of your help in reuniting us with our child. Our … children.” She looked at all of them, including her newly adopted Gracie and Ryan. “You are a fine officer and a fine Gnome. It has been an honor to know you.
“Oddwaddle, you take care,” she continued, giving him one last huge hug. “Thank you for your kindness. And keep an eye on these two for me, would you please?” She reached out and tousled the heads of Ubri and Bram. “They may need a word now and then to keep them in line.”
A Gnome she did not know approached the group and whispered something in her ear.
“Ubri, Bramwith,” she said, “there is someone here to see you.”
The crowd of onlookers, Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, and Trolls, parted to allow the passage of Andar Gall.
“Father! ” yelped Ubri. Bramwith echoed him. All three embraced warmly. Andar held Jubra, who was asleep on his arm.
“Is she safe with you?” he asked Bramwith, looking deep into his eyes.
“She will always be safe with me … Father.” Ubri smiled from ear to ear. They were family again.
That evening there was a massive celebration. It was a spectacular night, where harmony reigned among all, as Stephanie slept deep in the Bindu-trance. Orie, Ryan, Gracie, Erik, and Jacqueline were up to all sorts of mischief, Jacqueline chattering happily to Cinnamon the whole time. Each wondered about the whereabouts of Brutus, Patriachus, and the others, but decided to stay with the family tonight. They would visit with them tomorrow and say their goodbyes.
For a short spell, Forrester had come to, enough so that everybody knew he was going to be all right, then drifted right off to a deep sleep again.
Blake and Jessica slept well that night. The kids would be all right. It finally had the unmistakable feel of a place at peace.
Thargen watched over them until the three summer moons of Inam'Ra were finally setting in the dawn sky. “Now this,” he thought, his eyes finally closing as they were all settling in, “is the kind of duty I could get used to.”
Maxilius and Daria never once left Stephanie’s side. Each celebrated every single breath she took. Each knew when her nose was going to twitch, when she was going to sigh. Each was guessing her eyes were about to open when they did.
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“Good morning,” said Maxilius. Daria smiled brightly at her. “Good morning, my darling child.”
Jessica heard them and sprang to her bedside, crying, “Stephanie, are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” she answered. “How’s everybody doing?”
Chapter 34
Jessica was up earlier than usual. She was absolutely full of energy, which was peculiar because she hadn’t had her cup of morning coffee yet. It must have been that crazy dream she had had the night before. Man, that was a strange one.
As she opened the new can of coffee, bending forward to take a big sniff, which made her smile, she couldn’t get the dream out of her head. It seemed so real… ...and so long. Wow, she remembered a lot of detail, this fake wizard guy, getting transported to a strange world in search of their daughter who had gone on before them, getting caught by Gnomes … it all seemed so true to life.
As engrossed as she was, sitting there stirring her coffee and thinking about it, she didn’t notice Blake slipping his arms about her waist. “Good morning, Jess.”
“Oh, good morning,” she said. “Sorry. I didn’t see you. I was thinking about this weird dream I had last night.”
“Mmmm,” he said. “I had a strange one too.”
“Must have been something we ate. What did we have for dinner last night?”
He poured himself a cup of coffee, causing her to remark, “You don’t drink coffee, what are you doing?”
“You know,” he said, “I don’t know.” He poured it back into the pot and scouted up the jar of tea bags in the cupboard.
“What did we have for dinner?” he asked. “I’ll be danged if I can remember.”
“What?” she asked, looking distracted by the question. “Oh, sorry. I’m afraid I can’t stop thinking about that dream I had.”
“What was it about?” he asked, popping his cup into the microwave and setting the timer for two minutes.
“It was bizarre,” she said. “Some guy, claiming to be a wizard from another world, showed up here and asked us to go there with him to save his race that was on the verge of extinction. And then it went on from there. It seemed like it went on forever.”
“Hemlock Simpleton,” he said.
“Yes ,” she said, her look incredulous. “That was his name. Hemlock Simpleton. How did you know that?”
“I think I had the same dream … ”
For the next half-hour they talked about this epic dream. It was astounding. Not a detail was different in the recollections they shared. So many characters, the names of which they both, somehow, knew.
“Do you remember that belt that we found in that hunter’s camp in the forests of Ravenwild? The one with the royal crest of the house of Fairman on the buckle?” she asked.
“Yes I do!” he exclaimed. “It was the same crest that was on that ring that Rolan gave me when we were floating down the King’s River getting away from the Trolls that had just overrun the castle in Belcourt. It was in the shape of the head of a falcon.”
“Yes,” she said. “Yes! Exactly. Wow … ”
Totally immersed in their conversation, they didn’t even notice when Jacqueline, holding Cinnamon, and Orie entered the kitchen.
“Good morning,” said Jacqueline, pointedly.
“Oh … good morning Jacq’,” said Jessica, her salutation repeated by Blake. Both also said good morning to Orie, who asked, “Are you guys talking about the weird dream you had last night?”
Both looked slightly taken aback. “Why yes,” Jessica answered, “we were.”
“Did it involve a place called Inam'Ra?”
Blake and Jessica exchanged a meaningful look.
“It did,” Blake said. “Don’t tell me you had the same dream?”
They both nodded.
“Both of you?”
Each continued to nod. “Yeah, I heard you talking about it while I was washing up.”
He moved to the cupboard and poured himself a bowl of cereal. “Does that ever happen?”
“Does what happen?” asked Jessica.
“You know. Where people share the same dream? You guys are both doctors. Have you ever read anything like that before?”
They both exchanged a befuddled look. Each shook their head, “No.”
“I don’t think so … No.” said Jessica. “I’ve never read about anything like that? Have you?” she asked Blake.
“I have not,” he answered.
“Wow,” said Orie.
Jacqueline, meanwhile, had moved into the TV room and turned on a cartoon. Her face looked stern.
“Jacq’?” asked Jessica. “Are you all right?”
“Say ‘Yes, Mom’,” thought Cinnamon.
“Yes, Mom,” she said.
It was another fifteen minutes before Stephanie awoke. She glanced around her room. Same old room. Same old mess. Same pile of homework on the desk.
She reached immediately for the amulet, and it was missing. She looked at the nightstand beside her bed, on which sat a large, odd-looking piece of fruit. She smiled. Good old Orie. She knew she had never seen a piece of fruit that resembled it, yet she knew precisely why, and she picked it up carefully. She pinched the stem on the top and lifted it up, causing the entire top to lift off. She smiled again.
Grasping the fruit in her right hand, she turned it upside down and shook the contents into her left one. There it was! The amulet. It was real. She knew it had been real. No dream could have ever lasted that long, or had that many details.
As always, she shook it gently, trying to get it to communicate with her. As usual, it remained the solid purple that she had gotten used to over the weeks she had worn it. She put it on. Then she touched her heart-shaped stone and was suddenly profoundly thankful that everyone had survived, against all odds, the odyssey that had been their lives for the better part of a year. And it was exactly as Hemlock had said it would be. It was still tomorrow. Now that, that was definitely mind-bending.
While she was getting dressed, it started to glow warm against her chest, so she flipped it around to have a look. What really surprised her was how she was not surprised at all that it had done that. The same face that had always appeared to her was suddenly staring at her with a look of surprise.
“I see you have managed to bring it with you,” said the voice.
Stephanie didn’t answer, but shook her head up and down.
“You were not supposed to do that,” said the voice.
She shrugged, thinking, “finders-keepers.”
“I take it you wished it?”
“Yes,” she said. “I did. I believe I earned it.”
“You did,” said the face. “You gave of yourself at every turn. You put yourself in harm’s way. You did everything asked of you. You do deserve it. But one thing, if I may?”
“Sure,” she answered. “But I have some questions of my own. This is the first time I have been able to actually speak with you. And I am here, and you are, I guess … there. Why wouldn’t you let me speak to you then, and how do I know you to begin with? I know I know you, but I don’t remember ever meeting you. Did we meet while I was there or something? What’s your name, anyway?”
She heard a sweet, drawn-out laugh. “So many questions,” the face said. “First, my name is Katyli-of-the-Bindu-Scriptures. I spent months with you teaching you the chants that are required to invoke the power of the Bindu-ward art of magic and spell. Do you remember the chants?”
Stephanie thought for a second and said, “Yes?”
“Oh my … Hmmm … That’s interesting,” said Katyli-of-the-Bindu-Scriptures, cocking her eyebrows up and down slightly. “You’re not supposed to be able to.
“You were sent to me for your training after you had survived a number of challenges presented to you by the Dukkar. Do you remember the Dukkar?”
She thought for a moment and said, “No?”
“I see,” she murmured, nodding slightly, then, “Well, that’s as it should be.”
>
The image started to fade, and Katyli-of-the-Bindu-Scriptures’ voice began to fade with it.
“Stephanie,” she said. “Be good, and be careful what you wish for.”
The amulet turned back to its purple color.
She flipped it back around where it lay alongside her ruby and got dressed into blue jeans and a sweatshirt.
Walking into the kitchen, she saw that her mother and father were bent low over the kitchen table and talking in hushed voices.
“Hey, Stephanie,” called Orie from the living room, where he and Jacqueline were watching ‘Sponge Bob’.
“What?”
“Have Mom and Dad tell you about the dream we all had last night.”
“What dream was that?” asked Stephanie.
“Did you have a strange dream last night?” asked Jessica.
“Why don’t you tell me about your dream first.”
“All right,” said Jessica, and started right in with the whole long story. Hours went by, and the Strong family members were all still telling, and retelling, and correcting, and interrupting, and laughing, and reliving it all. And with each telling, they remembered more details. It was an absolute hoot. By well after lunchtime they were still at it.
“I have to make some calls,” said Blake all at once, reaching for the phone as the whole family stared at him.
“To whom?” asked Jessica.
“I have no idea if this shared-dream thing has ever been published before, or reported on, or studied or anything,” he said. “This is amazing. It’s almost like this thing actually happened … I’m calling Kendra.”
He began to reach for the phone. It rang.
