Discovery at Nerwolix
By
C. G. Coppola
SMASHWORDS EDITION
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PUBLISHED BY:
C. G. Coppola on Smashwords
Discovery at Nerwolix
Copyright © 2014 by C. G. Coppola
Cover images courtesy of Nsirlin, deadandliving, doctor, and canstockphoto.
Cover by Joleene Naylor
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. It remains the copyrighted property of the author and may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed for any commercial or non-commercial use without permission from the author. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
Adult Reading Material
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“All my writing is God Given.” – Ray Bradbury
I am blessed to have such an amazing support team of family and friends, all doubtless that I will succeed in this dream, but I can’t take the credit. I put in the time and energy because it’s what I love to do, and it’s a gift that I’m even able to do it. I could’ve been born with anything else, but I was given words. And they are only a percentage mine. Everything I do, everything I have is because He gave it to me. And that should be acknowledged.
*****
For Mamabear. You always believed in me.
This one’s for you.
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Other Books in the Arizal Wars series:
Escape from Harrizel, Book 1, now available
Plague of Mybyncia, Book 2, now available
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Discovery at Nerwolix
1. Blovid
2. Pweboles
3. Red Larupip
4. Vermix Lair
5. Revelation
6. Reunion
7. Zingfinold Boot Camp
8. Information
9. Clash
10. Testosterone
11. Lynzees
12. Admittance
13. Embracement
14. Sighting
15. Curiosity
16. Emotions
17. Origin
18. Beginning
19. Arrival
20. Help
21. Pregame
22. Hylas Mountains
23. Ludins
24. Nerwos
25. Tunnel Keeper
26. Shore Wars
27. Discovery
28 Decisions
29 Goodbye
Chapter One: Blovid
I’m immediately warm.
Heat radiates from several small torches lining the dark wall, defrosting my limbs which have nearly turned solid from the cold. I wasn’t sure I’d ever feel warm again. Having trudged through Larupip’s frigid tundra in nothing but my baseball tee and jeans, it was up for debate. But now that I’ve followed Able into the tunnel brimming with yellow light, I’m soaking in much-needed heat. I can feel my fingers again and the tip of my nose. My face doesn’t feel like a hard mask, but skin, completely pliable and right. I inhale through my nostrils and watch as the crackling fire flickers, casting shadows along the dark cave walls that curve around, encompassing us in a golden egg of warmth. I drop my hands to my sides. I don’t have to breathe heat into them anymore now that we’ve arrived.
Out of all the places I expected the Arizal Leader to be, a frozen wasteland is not what I had in mind. I knew it would be some place obscure; Blovid wouldn’t make it easy for him to be located. But here? On Larupip? In the middle of a frozen nowhere?
“Excuse us!” Jace and Werzo bulldoze in, knocking Reid into me and me nearly to the wall. He catches me before I hit it, snapping his head back at them.
“Guys?”
“Fr-freezing!” Werzo mumbles through chattering teeth.
“Sorry, Fallon. Fire!” Jace rushes over to one of the torches. He places his hands above the flame, visibly relaxing. “Ah—much better.”
“What’re you—a caveman?” Able shakes his head.
“You alright?” Reid has me by my elbow, leading me toward another torch, closer to where Vix has Qippert leaning against the wall.
“Fine,” I toss Jace and Werzo a look.
“Everyone defrosting?” Clarence heats his hands over the same torch that Booker and Tucker are using. “No one getting hypothermia?”
“Oh—they should not be,” a new voice says from the back. “I have been here much longer and I am doing just fine.”
We all turn, most hands still hovering above the torches as a new face steps into the fire’s golden light. He is somewhat older, close to Sampson’s age, and has black hair dusted lightly with grey. Like the Fychu, his eyes radiate an unnaturally sharp blue, except they’re more cobalt rather than Sampson’s robin’s egg blue. Suited from head to toe in a padding of thick white fur, he’s in human form and standing tall, beaming at us with a hint of genuine curiosity.
“Everyone,” Sampson looks around the warm, golden space. “I would like you to meet Blovid—one of the Leaders of Dellapalania.”
We all sort of look at each other for a minute, and then to the new Dofinike who approaches. Planning my introduction, I’m about to make my way over when Clarence beats me to it, offering his hand.
“It’s been too long.”
“It has old friend,” they shake and the Arizal Leader throws his arm around Clarence’s back, pulling him in close. They embrace quickly and Blovid clasps him on his shoulder. “I am so very sorry about everything that has happened since we last spoke.”
“When was the last time you spoke?” Werzo asks.
“Oh…” Blovid’s smiles falters. “Not since the trials, I believe.”
“Trials?”
“After the Ellae massacre… when the fate was decided of everyone involved. Sympse and Clarence…” his eyes roam to the two, quickly filling with guilt, “…well, best we focus on the present, right?”
“Absolutely,” Clarence agrees.
“And Qippert,” Blovid turns his attention to the injured Dofinike. “I see you are less than operational since the last time I saw you.”
“It is a mere wound,” he pats his abdomen. “I should be fully healed in a day. Two at the most.”
“Dare I ask?”
“Much has happened since you left Pryncbia.”
That’s an understatement.
Blovid fled Pryncbia when the Vermix invaded in search of him. But it didn’t stop with just an attack on the Northern shore—they went after the Southern Waters as well. We’d meant to follow the Arizal Leader after we’d aided the planet, except a vast plague spilled into the water, killing nearly half the kingdom’s inhabitants and prolonging our stay. It was only after a trip to Nerwolix that we returned with the antidote and were finally able to leave Mybyncia in the recovering hands of Chancellor Keller.
“I would not doubt it,” Blovid laughs with a glance back at Sampson. “I was beginning to wonder where you were. I expected perhaps a day’s delay before receiving you and the humans,” he glances over us, “but if my timing is correct, I believe… it has been a little over a week?”
Sampson nods while Clarence offers a throaty chuckle. “It has been a long week.”
“And I am eager to hear of it, but first,” he motions over
his shoulder, to the lit tunnel behind him, “let us eat.”
“Yes,” Jace celebrates under his breath.
“What’re we having?” Werzo rubs his hands together, following the line that quickly forms behind Blovid. Clarence and Vix assist Qippert; they’re followed by the Rogues and I, and then Sampson, who keeps to the tail end as we move through the narrow walls. “You didn’t kill any Glippis did you? Because I’ve got to admit—I’m a little over it.”
“No,” Blovid laughs. “The Glippis are native to Mybyncia only. I assume you did not care for it?” he throws a glance over his shoulder.
“Not as much as the Hunnis,” Jace grins.
“Ah, yes,” Blovid muses, leading us into a new room. It’s more than double the size of the last compartment with torches lining the entire space, casting the same golden glow. White and brown hides line the two levels which are separated by a solid gray staircase, and in the center of the ground floor, a small fire pit crackles beneath delicious roasting meat, which turns on a spit over it. The smell immediately invades my nostrils, causing a low grumbling in my stomach. I lick my lips as Blovid motions to the pit, “But perhaps you might enjoy Carring?”
“What is it?” Reid asks.
“An animal native to Larupip. They are a bit terrible when attacking,” Blovid gestures to the white fur rug lining the majority of the floor, “but their meat falls right off the bones. Absolutely divine.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Werzo’s tongue practically hangs out of his mouth, his wide eyes set on the spit.
“I am sorry,” Blovid frowns at Sampson, “but as I was not expecting you tonight, I do not have enough ready for all. I can put some more on, but it may take a moment.”
“That is perfectly fine,” Sampson nods. “You, Qippert, Clarence and Vix eat first. I’ll wait with the others.”
Werzo visibly pouts while Jace’s stomach gives off its own opinion.
“No,” Blovid shakes his head. “I could not possibly eat before my guests. Please, Fychu, you eat with Qippert, Clarence and Vix. I can wait with the humans while they fill me in on what has been happening. I was informed,” he turns to us, “about the terrible experiments being performed. Who was it that initially discovered the secret?”
All the Rogues gesture to me and Blovid’s eyes widen in surprise. “Really?”
I nod.
“How, may I ask, did you know where to look?”
“The Lynzees,” Sampson breaks off a piece of the roast and offers it to Qippert. He tears another section in two and hands a piece to Clarence and Vix. “They led her.”
“Is that so?” Blovid gazes at me, as if suddenly interested on a whole new level.
“What are they?” I ask.
Without breaking his focus—or his smile—Blovid answers before Sampson can. “They are messengers of the Lost Princesses.”
“Who are the Lost Princesses?” They sound familiar, but I can’t quite recall where I’ve heard about them.
“Really, Fychu,” Blovid glances back to him. “Have you educated them at all?”
“We’ve had our hands full,” Clarence bites into the delicious smelling roast, “not a lot of time for class.”
“But the basics?” he tsks him as Sampson puts a fresh slab of meat on the spit. “Well,” Blovid turns back on us, “they are the Daughters of the Great Spirit, the Mother—the embodiment of the Way. The Lost Princesses were the ones to deliver the Three Worlds their Three Gifts.”
“So why would they send their messengers to me? Does this happen often?” I glance at Sampson who is exchanging looks with Clarence.
“No.” Blovid shakes his head. “It is a rare occurrence. I know of only a few times when the Lynzees have presented themselves.”
“What does this mean?” Reid looks at me.
“We do not know,” Blovid shrugs, “but they have chosen you for a reason, that much is certain. Tell me, have you seen them since?”
I shake my head.
“We’ve been on Mybyncia,” Clarence says, “and only a short time on Nerwolix.”
“They appear on all Worlds.”
“But they were little bugs,” Reid frowns, glancing at me for confirmation. “Right? Isn’t that what you said? How could they appear on Mybyncia?”
“They are of the Spirit, able to transition their form to any environment. I believe they would appear with fins instead of wings, should they present themselves in Mybyncia’s great ocean. But bugs?” Blovid frowns at me. “Come now. Would you not consider them more of a fairy species?”
“Not really sure,” I shrug. “They kept flying by so quickly and then at night… it was so dark…”
“Next time, look closer.”
“Next time?” I glance from Clarence to Sampson and back to Blovid. “Are you saying they’ll come back?”
“There is no way of knowing for certain, but I would not be surprised. We are still in the early stages of this war. They could have come to the Fychu with this information, but instead, they presented it to you,” he scratches his chin, considering. “I wonder what else they will find necessary to share,” he glances to the others behind him. “This will prove interesting indeed.”
“Good, good,” Werzo nods, glancing over at the newly roasting Carring. “How’s it coming? I’ll take mine medium if it makes it easier.”
“Almost done,” Sampson assures.
Werzo grunts, folding his arms as he leans against the wall next to Tucker and Booker. Jace paces behind Reid and Able who stand quietly.
“And the rest of you?” Blovid scans the Rogues. “I have heard good things about your deeds. Tell me—who was the leader of this rebellion against Beshib?”
The boys all focus on Reid.
“You?” Blovid asks.
“No,” Reid shakes his head. “It was a group effort, led primarily by the Fychu.”
“Don’t be modest,” Sampson sighs, moving over to join the Arizal Leader. “Reid here has too many accomplishments to boast of, but it’s not in his nature to brag.”
“It is not bragging if it is the truth,” Blovid says.
“Fallon had as much a hand in the rebellion as I did. As any of us did,” he gestures to the other Rogues, “and without the Fychu, it wouldn’t have happened.”
“And without you forming the Rogues,” Sampson counters, “we wouldn’t have had a force at all. We had a rebellion because you created an army of those unwilling to submit. Do not doubt yourself, Reid. You don’t give yourself enough credit.”
“So, it was a group effort,” Blovid gestures to Reid, “led by you. This is good to know. And Vix, dear,” he turns to her, “I trust you are in good health?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“And Sympse has advised me that you recently rejoined the others?”
“Yes—Able and I,” she motions to him, “were captured and held on Nerwolix. We attempted escape during the Vermix invasion but were unintentionally detained.”
“Interesting,” he nods. “And the others found you there?”
Vix nods.
“How has it been?” Blovid softens his voice as he looks to Sampson. “On Nerwolix?”
Something passes over the Fychu’s face, but it’s gone before it has time to cement. “We were only there for two days. Not enough time to get settled.”
“And what of Hozfin?”
“He wants nothing to do with the war.”
“Of course,” Blovid laughs. “Why would he? He is proud and fearless and does not believe any force—no matter its size or strength—could be a threat.”
“I’ve told him it may spill onto his lands, but you’re right,” Sampson shakes his head, pulling the meat from the spit, “he doesn’t believe it’s a viable threat. Alright guys, dinner is served.”
“Yes!” Werzo jumps up, taking off for the meat, but Reid swipes him back.
“Ladies first.”
With a defeated grunt, Werzo falls back and Reid gestures me ahead. I tear a small sect
ion of the juicy meat free and, as unladylike as it is, force a huge chunk into my mouth, chewing away greedily. I wasn’t aware how hungry I’d become, but the roasted flavoring mixed with the soft flesh—I can’t help it. The boys chow down on theirs as quickly as I do, already sneaking around the pit for seconds. Sampson has put on another slab of meat, the cave beginning to fill with the sweet aroma again.
Once Blovid finishes his portion, he wipes his mouth clean, nodding back at Sampson. “He will—Hozfin. Once the Vermix invade.”
“If we’re certain Reuzkimpart will bring his forces to Nerwolix, Hozfin needs to be prepared,” Clarence paces the room, licking the remaining juice from his fingers.
“He believes he is prepared for any invasion,” Sampson says.
“But Reuzkimpart will come with Traxpires and whips. What kind of defenses does Hozfin have?” Clarence asks. “He going to unleash the Horrop?”
“He has the familiarity of the terrain and the strength and cleverness of his people.”
“But what’s that going to do when you’re staring down a Traxpire?”
“Hozfin has defenses,” Vix nods. “He does not make it known, as most trespassers are killed on sight by physical ambush, but they have highly fatal strategies.”
“Such as?”
“I am not at liberty to say…” Vix looks between Blovid and Sampson. “You will want to ask him when we return.”
“Yes—explain this to me,” the Arizal Leader sighs. “We are returning to Nerwolix, correct? I assumed that once the Vermix had fled Mybyncia, I would return under Queen Ravan’s shelter again. But we are headed to Nerwolix because Mybyncia is still recovering? Was the Vermix invasion that detrimental?”
Clarence and Sampson exchange glances but the Fychu answers first. “No… the attack, though terrible, is not what kept us from you.” He takes a breath, trying to form his words. “We were planning to leave only a day or so after our arrival, but the Nhazual was released into Pryncbia’s waters.”
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