Beyond the Cherry Tree

by Joe O'Brien

  ‘Listen,’ beckoned Danthenum.

  Krudon began to speak to his dragolytes.

  ‘Evil of Habilon, our time has come.’

  The dragolytes flapped their wings in celebration and leaned their heads back, spitting molten rocks high into the sky. Krudon bellowed with laughter, silencing the celebrations.

  ‘Finally, Joshua, Borlamon’s heir, is dead.’

  Once again, the dragolytes celebrated, screeching deafening cries.

  Josh looked at Bortwig, then Danthenum. Danthenum shook his head.

  Bortwig smiled. ‘He thinks you’re dead. This is good.’

  ‘Good?’ said Danthenum. ‘Krudon has the orb. How is this good?’

  ‘We have the element of surprise,’ smiled the elf. ‘Worry not for the orb. We will just have to get it back.’

  Josh’s face creased up with worry, ‘Zera!’ he gasped. ‘If Krudon thinks I am dead then he’ll kill Zera!’

  Krudon turned full circle, holding the orb up high. The three onlookers dipped their heads as Krudon’s eyes passed over their hiding place. Then, once again, his back was turned to them.

  Krudon spoke his final words from the summit.

  ‘Fly now, creatures of Erzkrin. Fly south to the arc. Soon the orb will pass over from good to evil and we will crush anything that stands against us!’

  One by one, the dragolytes rose into the air and headed south, as Krudon had commanded. Krudon turned around and walked away from the ledge’s edge. Two dragolytes, one black and one red, met him. They were attached to a chariot. Krudon stepped onto the chariot. Josh, Bortwig and Danthenum ducked for cover as the chariot swooped up into the sky and flew over their heads, heading south.

  ‘Come,’ ushered Bortwig. ‘We must go to Valdosyr and save the princess.’

  ‘But the orb,’ worried Josh. ‘We need the orb to cure her.’

  ‘Our quest has not changed, my lord,’ said Bortwig, raising his hand to Josh’s shoulder.

  ‘We must still free Zera from Krudon’s castle. Worry not for the orb. Krudon will soon realise you are not dead when he places the orb into the arc and it rejects his evil hand.’ The elf smiled, but deep down, he worried if the orb had been in Erzkrin’s dark shadows for too long.

  Bortwig grabbed Josh’s arm as they descended Erzkrin, ‘Wait!’

  Danthenum drew his sword. ‘What is it, tree elf?’

  ‘I can smell it,’ warned Bortwig.

  ‘Smell what?’ asked Josh.

  ‘Quickly,’ warned Bortwig. ‘We must get to Smolderin.’

  They began to shuffle down the rocky edge, their feet slipping along the loose, blackened stones of Erzkrin.

  They did not sense that something was watching them from above – it was a black one, a smart one, and as the others flew south, it crept out of sight and around the northern edge of Erzkrin. Suddenly, Bortwig fell to his feet and cried out in agony. A burning lump of rock ash had lanced his left arm, leaving a deep, singeing wound. Then the dragolyte screeched.

  Danthenum turned quickly, swiping his sword through the air as Krudon’s creature swooped in to attack. He missed! Josh helped Bortwig back to his feet. The elf was in a lot of pain, but it was not a fatal blow.

  The dragolyte stopped in mid-air, flapping its long, scaled wings. It fixed its fiery eyes upon one thing and one thing only: the boy. Josh wielded his sword with both hands, pointing it at the creature.

  Danthenum stood in front of Josh, ‘Stand down, my lord.’

  Josh and Bortwig leaned back into the mountain as the knight stepped up onto a large rock, positioning himself between the creature and his king.

  Danthenum curved his right arm, pointing the sword at the dragolyte. With his left hand he beckoned the creature to him. The dragolyte screeched, and then flapped its wings in a rage. It attacked, spitting rock ash at Danthenum, but the knight slashed the onslaught of burning rocks into pieces with noble skill.

  The dragolyte opened its enormous mouth, its tongue draping over tracks of curved, jagged teeth. It opened its claws as it plunged toward Danthenum.

  Suddenly, a bellowing roar rippled across Erzkrin’s western edge as the white dragon raged toward the dragolyte. The dragolyte twisted its head full circle to see Smolderin flying toward it. Just as the evil creature pulled out of its attack to flee Smolderin, Danthenum lanced the tip of his sword across its belly, spilling its insides.

  Josh pulled Bortwig to one side and Danthenum jumped to his feet as the dragolyte crashed into the mountain. The creature lay still and gasped out a few long breaths of air. As Smolderin clung onto the side of Erzkrin, Josh helped Bortwig onto the white dragon’s back. Danthenum stood above the black dragolyte and plunged his sword through the creature’s heart.

  It was time to leave Erzkrin and its evil behind.

  Chapter 23

  Valdosyr

  Smolderin descended toward the stream on Danthenum’s order. Bortwig needed water and his wound needed to be cleaned.

  As the white dragon flew low, Habilon’s moon crept out from behind the shade. Its light shone across the water, revealing the carnage of bodies in the surrounding area.

  ‘Over there, Smolderin,’ called Danthenum, pointing down to something moving along the grass.

  It was the high knight; he was badly injured. His lower right leg had been crushed and a large dagger dug deeply into his back. He raised his head to Danthenum, his face ghastly and his skin darkened with dirt.

  ‘Danthenum!’ he gasped, grasping his arm.

  ‘Easy Melchard,’ comforted Danthenum. He knew it was only a matter of time before his spirit passed over.

  Melchard needed to speak.

  ‘Goblins,’ gasped the dying knight.

  Josh had been tending to Bortwig’s wound when he came over and knelt beside Melchard. Melchard slid his shaking arm across Danthenum, reaching for Josh. Josh reached out and held his hand. Tears ran from Melchard’s eyes, cleansing the dirt from his face. He smiled.

  ‘Joshua!’ he gasped.

  Josh’s eyes were teary. He nodded.

  ‘My king!’ said Melchard with ease. His struggle was nearing its end.

  He turned his head sharply to Danthenum.

  ‘The people have been warned … goblins … three thousand …’ Melchard’s eyes rolled and his voice grew frail as he squeezed Josh’s hand.

  ‘Message sent … the people … goblins …’ he said before he drew his last breath.

  There was nothing waiting for them as they approached Krudon’s castle: no goblins, no dragolytes; nothing at all.

  Krudon had left his castle empty and unguarded. The princess’ captivity was over. In Krudon’s mind Borlamon’s heirs were dead, so he was now busy directing all of his evil toward the arc.

  Cyclopses and blues moved from the west. Even krags left their mountain to join Krudon’s goblin army from the east and march south.

  Bortwig could never have truly imagined the fury that gathered south as he helped Josh search for Zera in Krudon’s dungeons. But that was a worry for a later time. Finding Zera was the quest for now.

  As Danthenum led them through the damp, darkened corridors, Josh and Bortwig wondered if they would find the general. But their hopes were shattered. There was no trace of the general anywhere. Finally, they found the steps that led them to the princess’ dungeon. To their shock and disappointment all that rested near the table where the princess had slept were gnawed pieces of her robe on the floor.

  ‘She’s gone!’ cried Josh. ‘Where is she? Bortwig, what has he done with her?’

  Bortwig, like Danthenum, stood in front of the table, mesmerised.

  They had no answer.

  Suddenly, they heard something scurrying down the steps. Danthenum and Josh drew their swords. A shadow appeared down the last few steps, before the figure followed. It was Wilzorf!

  Bortwig’s eyes lit up. ‘Wilzorf!’ gasped the elf with relief.

  Wilzorf entered the room. He appeared to be in great health.


  The wizard explained to them how he had travelled with speed, matched by no other. He had travelled with Heckrin, who had been hunting to the west when he came across an injured creature climbing out of Slygar’s pit. Eusyphia! Heckrin remembered the gentle way she had found him in the swamps and had cared for the wounds he suffered from the archers. In return, on Eusyphia’s request, he brought her to the waterfalls, where Wilzorf looked after her.

  ‘Is she okay?’ worried Josh.

  ‘She is well, my lord,’ smiled Wilzorf.

  Wilzorf went on to explain how he saw the dragolytes fly south from Erzkrin and knew that the orb had been taken from Erzkrin’s dark grasp.

  ‘It was then that strength returned to me,’ said Wilzorf. ‘My powers quickly returned to me, as if the shadow of Erzkrin had been lifted.’

  ‘Krudon has the orb!’ cried Josh.

  ‘Yes, my lord, I know,’ answered Wilzorf. ‘I have seen his evil moving south. Habilon is destroyed and now Krudon and his evil armies move towards the arc.’

  Josh turned toward Zera’s table.

  ‘She’s gone, Wilzorf. What has he done with her? Is she dead?’

  ‘Come,’ Wilzorf shook his head. With that, the wizard led them out of the dungeons.

  Wilzorf quickly ushered the others to the eastern wall of Krudon’s castle, where Heckrin was sitting on a pier and cruelly playing with a rat.

  ‘There!’ said Wilzorf, pointing down toward the cliff below the wall.

  ‘What is it, Wilzorf?’ asked Bortwig.

  ‘It is the princess’s necklace,’ said Danthenum.

  ‘The witch, Serula, has taken her,’ said Wilzorf.

  ‘Where?’ asked Josh. ‘How do you know for sure?’

  Wilzorf ran his staff along the wall. Froth and small black hairs gathered upon it.

  ‘From her cat,’ informed Wilzorf.

  ‘Lisagor!’ said Bortwig.

  Wilzorf nodded.

  Wilzorf and Bortwig knew what Serula’s plans were for Zera.

  They explained to Josh and Danthenum how Serula would offer Zera’s spirit to the shadows of Lisagor.

  ‘The fields of Lisagor are evil,’ said Wilzorf. ‘They are where all evil spirits end up when light is taken from them.’

  ‘The shadows come out every sunrise and search the land for evil spirits that linger around their dead bodies. Then they take these spirits to Lisagor and drag them deep under the dirt where they are damned forever,’ added Bortwig.

  ‘But what does the witch have to gain from taking Zera there?’ asked Danthenum. ‘She’s not evil.’

  Wilzorf explained how the good light comes for those with good spirits before the shadows of Lisagor can get to them.

  ‘But the shadows will take any spirit they can and sometimes they do get to good spirits first. These captive good spirits, then, in time, turn into greys: harmless shadows that linger around Lisagor’s fields and never go underground.

  ‘The good light will not enter Lisagor,’ explained Wilzorf. ‘If Serula kills Zera in Lisagor at the break of dawn, the shadows will take her. The spirit of a princess would be of high interest to the shadows of Lisagor, and, more than likely, Serula would be granted the return of her two sisters, Orzena and Urtilia, for this offering.’

  Josh looked to Bortwig.

  ‘I’ve seen the shadows,’ he cried. ‘In the Great Tree.’

  Bortwig nodded.

  ‘Then you know what danger lies ahead for Zera,’ said Wilzorf. ‘We must go, quickly, before the sun rises. I fear it will be too late for our princess at that time.’

  ‘We must go now,’ added Bortwig.

  ‘You, my good friend,’ said Wilzorf, ‘will travel to Feldorn with the white dragon and the knight. Much help is needed there.’

  Bortwig looked a little disappointed.

  As Heckrin lifted from the pier with Wilzorf and Josh, Wilzorf smiled and nodded toward the elf, but deep worry hid behind the wizard’s smile.

  ‘There will be great battles before the next sunset. The orb will decide Habilon’s fate. I hope, my good friend, we will meet in victory at the Arc of Habilon.’

  Bortwig and Danthenum sat upon Smolderin and waved as Wilzorf and Josh flew south with Heckrin toward the damning fields of Lisagor.

  Chapter 24

  Lisagor

  Heckrin would not fly any further as he believed that the living had no place in Lisagor. He sat still, camouflaged among the branches of the trees, watching Wilzorf and Josh wade through Lisagor’s long grasses. The darkness was still deep, but Wilzorf feared dawn would shortly break the night’s reign and that it would be too late for the princess.

  Even with his powers almost fully restored, Wilzorf knew that he would not be able to defeat the shadows. Yet he would not have taken his king into the evil plains of Lisagor if the Great Tree had not shown the shadows to him at the time of his passing between the two worlds.

  ‘What are we looking for?’ asked Josh as they walked further and further across the plains of Lisagor. ‘Where will Serula have taken Zera?’

  ‘I don’t know, my lord,’ answered Wilzorf. ‘I fear the witch is lying low, waiting for sunrise. There is no great doorway to the underworld. Lisagor has no magnificent monuments standing glorious and proud; it just has fields of dirt that cover the great darkness beneath. The shadows will come up, my lord, and they will change the landscape of Lisagor as they dance among the grasses in the morning light.’

  ‘Look, Wilzorf!’ cried Josh.

  Peering over the far horizon of Habilon, the sun’s first light began to emerge.

  ‘We must hurry, my lord,’ warned Wilzorf as he broke into a run.

  Suddenly, Josh could see a light shadow running alongside him. It was not a black shadow, but a grey.

  Then, another ran beside Wilzorf. The shadows reached out their hands to them. Wilzorf nodded to Josh and they grasped the shadows’ hands. They were whizzed into the air and sped across Lisagor’s fields as light began to fill the sky. The darkness receded.

  Up ahead, they could see the witch, Serula, dancing around Zera, who was lying across a large rock. Serula was chanting evil poison from her lips. Grasped between her two hands was a long, pointed dagger. She was about to kill the princess.

  For the first time since Josh had stepped beyond the cherry tree, great hatred rushed through his veins. He had no memory of his sister, but she was his sibling – his twin – and Josh could almost feel the witch’s dagger pierce his own heart as she waved it in time with her evil chant, preparing to add one of the final pieces in Krudon’s dark, malign jigsaw.

  Black shadows emerged from the ground and rose up high above the ritual. Like the witch, the shadows danced around in circles until they formed into one big, black shadow that enveloped the witch and the princess in darkness. Wilzorf reached out his staff in a desperate attempt to stop the witch. But was he too late?

  Krudon’s armies had surrounded Feldorn.

  They were attacking from the north, west and east, and even from the south, boldly in front of Habilon’s Arc. Krudon’s time had come. The evil sorcerer had waited so long for this moment. His chariot hovered in midair next to the orb’s intended resting place, where the two sides of the arc met.

  He took the orb in hand and leaned into the arc, looking down toward Sorkrin.

  ‘You will bow before me, great warrior, and I will take your army to the other world. We will be unstoppable!’ he cackled.

  Then he placed the orb into the arc.

  Suddenly, a blinding beam of white light shot out of the arc and headed for Lisagor. Wilzorf and Josh could hear Krudon’s agonising screams across the land.

  ‘The orb has rejected Krudon,’ gasped Wilzorf. He looked over at Josh. ‘It is reaching out for its king …’

  ‘Wilzorf!’ cried Josh, pointing ahead.

  Serula was standing over Zera, her arms raised above her head.

  The evil witch lowered the dagger toward the princess’s chest.

&nb
sp; Suddenly, the light of the orb entered Lisagor.

  ‘No!’ cried Wilzorf. He threw his staff into the path of the light as it swiftly moved across Lisagor’s fields.

  Just as Serula’s dagger touched the princess’s robe, the orb’s light shot Wilzorf’s staff through her chest. The force of the blow sent the witch and the dagger crashing to the ground.

  Light refracted from the staff up into the mass of black shadow, shielding the princess from Lisagor’s evil. Then, they appeared: not one, not two, but dozens of grey shadows danced all around the princess until one of them lifted her from the rock and swept her away toward Wilzorf and Josh.

  As Wilzorf’s shadow turned around, the wizard leaned back and reached out for his staff. The staff shot out of Serula’s chest and flew back into the wizard’s hand. Suddenly, the orb’s light disappeared.

  The black shadow furiously separated into hundreds of smaller shadows.

  The greys scattered as the black shadows chased across the fields after the wizard, the king and the princess. The three grey shadows dipped and swirled, avoiding the evil grasps of the others, but the black shadows were closing in and still the greys had not reached the edges of Lisagor.

  Suddenly, Wilzorf could see Heckrin flying toward them. The creature had abandoned his fears and come for them! Some of the black shadows broke away from the others and flew toward Heckrin, but Heckrin was too fast even for the shadows.

  As Heckrin swooped under the greys, they let go and the wizard, Josh, and the princess fell onto Heckrin’s back. Wilzorf held on tightly to the sleeping princess as Heckrin swept them away from the evil of Lisagor. The creature headed swiftly south on Wilzorf’s command. They flew in the direction of Togilin’s shore. This was the quickest way to the Arc of Habilon.

  Josh gazed at his sickly sister. He, too, wrapped his arm around her waist, in an effort to protect her. It was as if he was telling her that he had returned and he would be strong for her, for both of them. His thoughts raced as they flew towards the place where his journey in Habilon, began.