by F. P. Spirit
Kalyn took in a slow, deep breath, before speaking, not trusting her own voice. “Hello, Ruine. My name is Kalyn Rhan. You took my sister from me. Now, you’re going to die.”
He laughed. It was a hollow, wicked sound. “I know who you are, Kalyn. You have always been the prize that got away from me. How long did it take you to think up that pathetic line?”
“Longer than it will take for me to do this.” With that, she jerked the medusa’s head up and held it directly in front of Ruine’s face.
His eyes widened as he gazed into the medusa’s. Ruine grunted as his body slowly started to turn to stone, but then, to Kalyn’s surprise, he smiled. “Clever girl. I always knew… you were a prize.”
With those final words, and the cracking of stone, he grew still and silent, that crazed smile forever engraved on his gray face.
Kalyn stood to her feet, dropping the medusa’s head. “Elladan, can you do me a favor?” She asked, not taking her eyes off the grinning statue.
Elladan stepped up to her side. “Anything.”
“Could I borrow one of Lloyd’s hammers?”
Elladan hesitated, then he opened his portal bag and reached in, and grunting, drew one of the hammers out.
Kalyn took it, hanging onto it as the heavy head swung down to the floor. She lined her shoulders up with Ruine’s head, then, using all her strength, hauled the hammer back and swung it, slamming it into the middle of the grinning statue’s face, shattering it into a thousand pieces.
Stone Cold Truth
I’m sorry, my dear, but I’m not sure we can do anything for him now.
An eerie silence fell over the altar room. All sounds of battle had stopped after the naga’s declaration of failure to his mistress. Glolindir strained his ears, but could detect no further signs of fighting anywhere around them. What he did hear instead was a faint sniveling sound somewhere off to his right, accompanied by soft murmuring.
“Martan. Oh, Martan, why?”
A little farther off, he could hear Alana’s voice. “Donnie… Donnie? Wake up… wake up.”
A mixture of fear and frustration washed over Glo as he wondered what had happened to the duo. With his eyes blinded, he couldn’t be certain of much.
“What have you done, you fools?” a strange voice echoed around the cavern. “You’ve ruined everything!”
Glo then heard Seth. “Hey, you’re the ones who invited us. It’s your funeral.”
Glo laughed silently. Leave it to Seth.
The strange voice spoke again. “You think you’ve won? Well, think again. You can’t stop it from happening. One way or another, my mistress will rise again.”
The words sent a chill up Glo’s spine. That was no idle threat. Glo had previous experience with the cult’s mistress, and she was quite powerful indeed.
He then heard someone walk across the chamber and soft voices speaking. One was the strange man and the other was Kalyn, yet he couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying until Kalyn shouted, “Name!”
The voices went soft again after that, and Glo didn’t hear anything else until a loud crack echoed across the chamber. It sounded like metal meeting stone. The room went silent again for a few moments until another noise reverberated around the altar room.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
It sounded as if two giant hands were applauding in a slow rhythm. The noise was followed by a chilling voice.
“Well done, Heroes. Very well done.”
Glo involuntarily flinched at the sound. He had heard that malevolent voice before, albeit only in his mind till now. It belonged to Salisma, the demon ‘goddess’ of the Serpent Cult.
“Pathetic as he was, my servant was right. You may have won for now, but this is not the only way into your world. So, enjoy your victory while you can. It will be short-lived...”
A whooshing sound filled the chamber, signifying the closure of the portal to the abyss. Yet the demon’s last words still hung in the air, sending a chill up Glolindir’s spine yet again.
The altar room went silent after that, only to be broken a few moments later by a weak, but familiar glib voice. “Well, she’s certainly pleasant.”
Glo shook his head, a closemouthed laugh emanating from his throat despite himself. Donnie was alright after all, and apparently hadn’t lost his droll sense of humor.
Elladan snickered. “Heh. What’s the matter, Donnie? Not your type?”
“I don’t think she’s anyone’s type,” Donnie shot back. The slight elf started to laugh, but it swiftly degenerated into a coughing fit.
Alana chided the slim elf. “Easy there, tiger. That was a nasty shot you took. You’re lucky you didn’t bash your skull in.”
Donnie’s response was a sarcastic laugh. “Wouldn’t be the first time I banged my head against the wall. Luckily I have a thick skull.”
The duo’s light banter brought the beginnings of a smile to Glo’s lips. The tension had just begun to drain from his shoulders when Kalyn’s voice blared across the room.
“How can you troll-brained morons joke at a time like this? A man’s been turned to stone, and y’all are waggin’ your tongues about some demoness? Don’t ya have any sense of respect?”
Glo felt his gut wrench into a knot. Martan? Turned to stone?
Seth, on the other hand, positively snorted with glee at the duo’s berating. “Yeah, you troll-brained morons. Show some respect for the man. After all, he threw himself in front of the medusa to save Kalyn.”
Seth’s double-edged remark subdued Kalyn’s sudden outburst. The young woman’s voice was filled with guilt as she mumbled a reply. “Well he didn’t have to. I would’ve been fine.”
“Sure, you would,” Seth humored her, though his tone was positively scathing.
Kalyn went silent at that point, but Glo could just imagine the dark look she was giving the halfling. Meanwhile, both Elladan and Donnie must have been chagrinned by the young lady’s scolding.
Elladan uttered a brief, but sincere apology. “Sorry, Kalyn.”
“Yes, sorry we got carried away,” Donnie added dolefully.
Kalyn remained silent, but Alana spoke in her stead. “You would think that hitting the wall would have knocked some sense into him.”
“Not likely,” Seth chimed in.
Alana barely choked back a laugh as she tried to tend to Donnie. “Now hold still while I heal that thick skull of yours.”
At the same time, Glo heard purposeful footsteps stride across the cavern in his direction. A moment later, a gentle hand touched his arm and Kalyn’s voice whispered to him, “Is there anything you can do for Martan? Some sorta magic stuff to change him back to the way he was?”
That’s a good question. Glo didn’t answer immediately. Instead he closed his sightless eyes, his brow furrowing as he racked his brain. There was a high-order spell that could turn rock to skin and another one that could do the exact opposite. Yet the medusa’s magic was a powerful innate ability, one that far surpassed either of those spells.
Glo finally shook his head and grimaced, his unseeing eyes misting over as he spoke. “I’m sorry, Kalyn, but I’m not sure we can do anything for him now. He may be gone for good.”
Glo felt the hand on his arm fall away. Kalyn’s voice sounded hollow as she implored the others. “Ain’t there anything… anyone can do?”
Aksel answered her plea this time, the little cleric’s voice filled with sympathy. “I promise you we will do everything we can for him, but right now we must focus on healing what we can.”
Glo heard a short sigh, then Kalyn uttered a glum, “Okay.”
Aksel went silent for a moment, then turned his attention to the others. “Cyclone, let me see those burns.”
Glo felt a slight twinge of guilt at hearing of the hunter’s burns. His fi
reball had most likely been the cause. Yet Cyclone didn’t seem to care. The hunter responded in his typical gruff fashion.
“Nah, I’ll be fine. Maybe you should fix Lloyd’s arm before it falls off.”
Glo’s eyes went wide. What happened to Lloyd?
Aksel sounded as surprised as Glo. He heard quick footsteps shuffling across the cavern floor, followed by the gnome chiding Lloyd, “Your arm’s almost completely severed! When were you planning on telling me?”
Lloyd’s reply was rather sheepish. “I didn’t think it was that bad, and anyway, Martan’s problem seemed a bit more pressing…”
For the first time since Glo had known him, Aksel swore under his breath. In fact, he swore multiple times before getting a hold of himself.
Seth snickered off to one side. “I guess we’re rubbing off on him.”
The little cleric ignored the side-comments, his focus completely on their severely injured companion. “Now sit down, and hold still! This is going to take a while.”
Glo felt the rush of nearby magic as the little cleric invoked his healing power. At nearly the same moment, a strange female voice filtered across the chamber. The accent sounded similar to Kalyn’s, but was just a bit thicker. “Well at least y’all are in one piece, more n’ less.”
“Fran! Raina!” Kalyn shrieked with excitement. Her tone abruptly turned confused. “Elfar? What are y’all doin’ here? Where’d you find him?”
Glo heard the sound of multiple feet shuffling across the cavern.
“Thought we’d have to come n’ save you, sis,” a male voice answered in that same thick dialect. “As for your cat, found ‘im with that nice lil gift-wrapped present ya left in them wagons.”
There was a slight pause, then Kalyn spoke again in a withering tone. “Decon… Daer… what in the abyss are you two orc-lovers doing here?”
“Now is that any way to talk to your lovin’ brothers?” the one who had spoken before replied.
Glo heard a loud pop, followed by a cry of, “Ouch! What was that for?”
“For bein’ an idiot n’ a jerk… n’ that goes for the both of you,” Kalyn shot back.
“Now, seeing as you is related to us, what does that make you?”
Pop!
“Ouch!”
“N’ that’s for what you did to Martan,” Kalyn added, her tone as sharp as an icy blade.
“Oh…” her brother faltered, “You found out about that too, eh?”
“I don’t hear you denying it.”
“Nah, nah, chil’ns. This ain’t tha time ner tha place,” the female voice admonished them.
“Well she started it,” Kalyn’s brother complained.
Pop!
“Ouch!”
“Enough already!” the female voice roared.
Glo didn’t know whether to laugh or be concerned. He assumed the voice he had heard was Fran, the same druid who had sent them the message from Seth. His assumption was confirmed a moment later.
“Lookin’ like ya got things t’well in hand though,” she continued.
“We do our best, Mistress Fran,” Seth interjected with just a trace of sarcasm.
“Nice ta see ya too, Masta Seth,” Fran retorted with a slight lilt to her voice.
The corner of Glo’s mouth upturned slightly. It appeared the lady druid was quite familiar with Seth’s acerbic sense of humor.
Kalyn spoke next, though the young woman’s tone had turned glum once again. “We held our own… mostly. Though Martan didn’t fare so well.”
“Martan? Martan Folke? What’s that low-life doin’ here?” Kalyn’s brother asked.
“Nothing much. Just saving your sister’s life is all,” Seth retorted in Martan’s defense.
Elfar’s low growl echoed around the room.
There was a momentary pause before Kalyn’s brother spoke again. “You don’t say, short stack. So Martan actually grew a spine?”
Pop!
“Would you stop doing that!” Kalyn’s brother snarled.
This time, Elladan interrupted the siblings. “Listen, friend. Martan’s been with us for a while now, and he’s faced more danger than you’ll probably see in a lifetime—everything from wolves to dragons. So, you might want to think twice about what you say about him.”
Kalyn’s brother, however, did not seem convinced. “Is this true, sis? Did he save your life?”
Kalyn reluctantly answered her brother’s question. “Well, yeah, Decon… he sorta jumped between me n’ a medusa. Not that I needed the help, mind you, but he did go n’ get himself turned to stone trying to keep me safe.”
Decon finally seemed impressed. “Well, I’ll be…”
“Glo here said there ain’t no way to change him back…” Kalyn’s voice trailed off.
“That tall elf over there yonder, this Glo?” Fran asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” Kalyn answered the lady druid.
A moment later, Glo felt a tingling sensation cross his body. It was very delicate and rather brief, but he immediately recognized it as a magical scan. Whoever the practitioner was, they were very skilled.
When it finished, Fran addressed him again. “You been blinded there, son, and it ain’t natural, is it?”
Glo shook his head. “No, ma’am.”
“Raina, werk ya magic on tha poor lad. Kalyn, shows me this medusa that went n’ stoned Martan. Decon, Daer, keep an eye on that cave entrance. There may’n be some cult-cysts still lurkin’ ‘round.”
“Eh, not likely. Ya druids probably et ‘em all.” Decon sighed.
The noise of scuffling feet filled the chamber once more, when Elladan’s voice rang out next to Glo. “I think I’ll join you two. I’d love to hear about Martan’s days in Deepwood, and I can tell you more about his adventures with us.”
“Whatever floats your boat,” Decon answered, though the Deepwooder didn’t exactly sound thrilled.
The sounds of retreating footsteps died away when Glo felt a small pair of hands on his shoulders. The owner of those hands then spoke to him in a tiny, but firm voice. “Hello, Glolindir. There’s a bench right behind you. Please sit down.”
Glo felt behind him and found the bench, sitting carefully down on it. A moment later, a light pair of fingers touch his temples. There was a brief surge of magic, then the blackness in front of him suddenly brightened into a world of colors and motion.
The tall elf blinked, his eyes focusing on the unfamiliar freckled face of a small but cheerful young woman with colorful red dreadlocks. Her green eyes danced with amusement, her lips curling into a cute smile. “Now that’s better, isn’t it?”
Glo beamed at the young lady while taking in her interesting attire. She wore a strange combination of fibers and colors, woven to appear like bark and leaves. Her outfit was further adorned with feathers here and there, but her tiny feet were bare. “Most definitely better. Thank you… Raina, is it?”
“That’s me!” Raina’s smile widened into a grin. “And you’re the infamous fire mage, Glolindir.”
Glo felt the blood rise to his cheeks. He felt like denying it for a moment, then hung his head and smiled wanly. “Guilty as charged.”
Seth, lounging on another bench across the aisle from them, snorted with obvious glee. “Told you you had a reputation.”
The elven wizard cast a dark look at the halfling, then swept his eyes around the rest of the chamber. Aksel and Lloyd sat over by the altar. The little cleric knelt next to the warrior, brilliant white light emanating from his hands and completely enveloping Lloyd’s left arm.
Across the room by a tall pillar, Alana stood over Donnie. A bright light similar to Aksel’s flowed from her hands and covered the back of the slim elf’s skull.
Cyclone sat alone at the far end of the pews, his ski
n still covered in burned welts. Yet as Glo watched, those welts slowly began to shrink.
Glo arched an eyebrow at the sight. He had no idea how the young man was healing himself. Whatever was going on with the hunter most definitely warranted further investigation, yet this was neither the time nor the place.
Back behind Glo, Kalyn and a middle-aged woman he presumed to be Fran hovered over the dead body of the medusa. The druid was dressed as he expected, in a patchwork robe of greens, browns, and grays. Yet upon her head sat a straw hat covered with decorative flowers.
Glo mentally adjusted his initial assessment of the woman. She was certainly not your typical druid.
A stone figure stood not far away from the pair. Glo’s face fell as he recognized what had once been Martan. From the archer’s pose, he must have been terrified when he threw himself in front of the medusa—yet he had done so to save Kalyn.
Glo could only imagine what it would take to make that kind of sacrifice. The young elf had only felt that deeply about a very few people in his life. A vision of bright violet eyes and honey-colored hair briefly flashed through Glo’s mind. He quickly pushed it out of his head. That part of his life was over.
Kalyn’s sudden screech broke him out of his deep thoughts. “Fran, put that down! You want to turn to stone, too?”
The middle-aged druid cackled with laughter as she juggled the medusa’s head in her hands. “This old thing can’t hurt me none… or didja furget I was blind.”
Though the lady archer shielded her face, Glo could still see the sheepish look on it. “Yeah, guess I did forget for a moment, but that thing ain’t ‘xactly safe either.”
Fran cackled once more. “Well, safe or not, it may jus’ be the key ta savin’ young Martan here. Bes’ we be puttin’ this ‘way for nah, though, wheres it won’t be causin’ no more trouble.”
The blind druid pulled out a familiar-looking bag from her belt and stuffed the medusa head into it. Though the bag was far smaller than the head, it easily disappeared inside.
Ah, Fran has a portal bag just like Elladan’s.
With that squared away, Glo returned his attention to Raina. “So then, when did you folks get here?”
