The Shadowed Land

by Ryan W. Mueller

  They crossed the flat chamber. Even though Aren's light hit the creatures, they didn't notice the party. The creatures shambled along, their eyes black and lifeless, no sign of intelligence behind them.

  Tobias kept the party moving quickly. His posture was commanding, his stride confident. Aren looked paler than Kara had ever seen him.

  He still had to be suffering the loss of Lena. Whenever Kara had a chance to think, she dwelled on all the people she'd lost, beginning on the day that Crayden burned. A rush of emotion swept over her, like a late-summer wildfire over dry tinder. She wanted to stop, but there was no time. They had to survive these tunnels.

  The creatures clustered more thickly toward the other side of the chamber, blocking the exit. Tobias gestured toward the creatures, and wind whooshed through the chamber, striking the creatures and toppling them. The party tried to race past them before they could rise again.

  Aren and Tobias made it without incident, but just as Kara passed the last creature, it took her leg in its hands and pulled her toward it. It opened its mouth, displaying sharp teeth that bore no resemblance to human teeth. Panic fluttered in her chest.

  Tobias and Aren had not turned back to see her distress. She shouted for help, but they wouldn't be quick enough to save her. The creature pulled her closer and closer to its mouth.

  She swung her sword downward, toward one of the creature's arms. The blade struck the arm, but not with enough force to sever it. The creature held on as though it couldn't feel pain. Kara tried another swing, but she was off-balance and managed only a glancing blow.

  Her leg was inches from the creature's mouth. She couldn't die like this, not after everything she'd been through. She pulled as hard as she could, but her leg wouldn't budge.

  The creature suddenly shrieked, and her leg came free. She darted away from its grip, reaching the spot where Aren and Tobias stood. The creature that had grabbed her now had a shard of ice sticking out of its chest.

  "Did you do that?" Kara asked Tobias.

  He nodded.

  "But why'd it hurt the thing? My sword didn't."

  "Your sword is a physical weapon. It takes magic to harm creatures like these."

  "Let's get out of here," Aren said. They filed into the next passage. Kara kept glancing back, expecting pursuit, but the creatures showed no interest.

  She felt suffocated, as if she'd never leave this place. "How much farther is it?"

  "Not too far," Tobias said. "But the worst is still to come."

  Chapter 49: The Journey Begins

  Kara, Tobias, and Aren came to a vast chamber where misty light filtered into their surroundings, revealing the imposing shape of the largest monster Kara had ever seen. It sat in the center of the chamber. Two of its three heads were asleep, but the third watched them with narrowed eyes.

  The creature resembled a giant cat and was larger than any building Kara had ever seen. For the moment, it looked sleepy and bored, but how long would that last?

  How could they find their way around this thing?

  "What the hell are we supposed to do here?" Aren whispered. All his confidence had faded away.

  Tobias examined the creature. "Stick close to me. I can camouflage us with a water spell. It works best if you're standing still, but if we move slowly, it should give us a chance." He shook his head. "Unfortunately, I don't have any magic that would work to fight this thing, or at least I'd rather not engage it in battle."

  Aren gave him a sharp look. "But you've been a sorcerer for hundreds of years."

  "Yes, I have, but a person can only be so powerful. As far as sorcery goes, I may be slightly above average, but I'm not a master. Not even close."

  Aren ran a hand through his dark hair. "Did you have to wait this long to tell us?"

  Tobias smiled grimly. "Would you have come with me if I'd told you?"

  "None of this matters." Kara stepped between them. "Let's find a way to get across this chamber, and then we can argue."

  Tobias nodded, and Kara could see the fear in his expression. He didn't expect this plan to work.

  She put a hand on his shoulder. "Did you know this thing was here?"

  "Yes, I've heard of it."

  "And you chose to lead us through here anyways?"

  "It was the only choice I had if I wanted to get you out of the city."

  "But why do you care so much?" Kara asked.

  "As I said, there's nothing left for me here, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to meet Krinir. I want to know why he has turned to such dark paths." He shook his head. "I used to believe in him. I have to understand. I have to."

  Kara could hear the desperation in his voice. She couldn't understand his feelings, though. As far as she was concerned, Krinir was nothing more than her way of getting home. She shuddered at the thought of meeting such a powerful and dangerous man.

  All three of the creature's heads were awake now, but it didn't move toward them. It remained where it was, as though it were standing guard.

  "Let's get going," Tobias said.

  Kara and Aren followed Tobias down a set of wide steps, and then they stood perhaps fifty feet from one of the creature's giant paws. It watched them warily, its movements restless. The water camouflage did not seem to be working.

  They took a few steps closer, and it opened all three of its mouths. Tobias wrapped his arms around Kara and Aren as a green substance sprayed from the creature's mouths. Kara felt a brief surge of warmth a moment before the green substance would have hit them. Instead, it dissolved against an invisible shield.

  "Fire shield," Tobias said. "It only works if you stay right next to me."

  "Will it protect us if it takes a swipe with its claws?" Aren asked.

  "No."

  They made their way across the large stone chamber by the misty light streaming through the open ceiling. The beast watched them with its enormous yellow eyes. It didn't appear to have any more of that green substance to spray at them.

  Crossing the chamber was a slow process. Kara felt as if her heart were going to beat right out of her chest. She took deep breaths, but gagged when she took in the beast's foul stench. The three-headed monster hadn't made any more aggressive moves, but the party was growing closer to where it stood guard.

  It was guarding the exit.

  One of the monster's heads shot toward them. Kara, Aren, and Tobias backed against a stone wall, narrowly avoiding a snap of its jaws. The beast swiped at them with one of its enormous paws, sending them flying to the side. Kara hit the ground hard, screaming as a few of her ribs cracked. Every breath sent stabbing pain through her chest.

  Gingerly, she got to her feet. Another claw took a swipe at her, and she ducked a moment before it would have broken her neck or decapitated her.

  There was a determined look in Tobias's eyes as he rose to his feet. "I'm going to distract it. You two need to run."

  Kara didn't ask him what he intended. She took Aren's arm, and they staggered away from the wall. Brilliant orange light illuminated the chamber, but Kara continued running, wincing at every breath.

  Whatever Tobias was doing, it kept the monster from focusing on Kara and Aren. They reached the other side of the chamber, raced up a set of stairs, then turned back to watch what was happening below from a safe distance.

  Tobias sent bursts of fire at the monster. His magic was much more powerful than anything Aren could do with his staff. A mesmerizing sight.

  But then Tobias stopped sending fire at the creature. Instead, he waved his right arm, and a giant ice crystal formed around him. He stood immobile within it, waiting for the monster to strike. Kara's breath caught in her throat. She knew what he intended. Was he insane?

  One of the heads lunged toward him, and the monster took the ice crystal in its jaws. It tried to crunch down on it, but the ice held strong. The monster growled in frustration, swallowed the ice whole, then turned its heads toward Kara and Aren.

  "We should go," Aren said.

&nb
sp; Kara wanted to wait, but Aren was right. They took off toward a nearby tunnel as the monster made horrible screeching sounds. She resisted the foolish urge to look back.

  Once they were safe, they slowed to a brisk walk. Grayish light entered the tunnel, and after a turn to the right, they found a rusty ladder leading up to the surface, but Kara wasn't sure she could climb it.

  "You look like you're in pain," Aren said.

  "It's my ribs."

  "I'll help you up, then."

  "Are you sure it's wise for both of us to climb at the same time?"

  "It'll be fine," Aren said, but she could see the doubt in his eyes. She stepped onto the ladder first and winced as pain shot through her ribs. After a moment, the pain became more bearable. She took a couple of breaths, then stepped up a rung, aided by Aren.

  The rungs felt flimsy beneath her feet, and some were entirely coated in rust. She tried to ignore the groans of the ladder with each slow step they took.

  To her amazement, they reached the top of the ladder without incident. Now they stood on a mountain, too far from Sierra City to see it through the mist.

  "You think Tobias survived?" Aren asked.

  "I have no idea."

  "We should wait for him." Kara settled down on a flat section of rock and ran her hand over her ribs, testing their tenderness. She might have overestimated her injuries at first. The ribs were cracked, but not too badly. Still, she wished she had Alia to heal her.

  No, don't think about Alia, Kara told herself. It would only bring her pain to remember Alia's last moments as the rockslide carried her to her death. Too many people had died, and Kara felt as if she were caught in a raging current that drowned everyone she loved.

  "Let's go," Aren said.

  "No, we should wait for Tobias, shouldn't we?" If she understood immortality correctly, only magic could kill a sorcerer like Tobias, and being swallowed couldn't be magical. Could it?

  "I don't know," Aren said. His gaze was distant, his voice soft. He stared across the misty landscape as if deep in thought. Of course, he had a lot to think about. He'd lost so much—all to help Kara. And why did she even matter? She was nothing.

  Kara stared toward the exit from the tunnels, and jumped in shock when a figure emerged.

  "Tobias?" she said. She thought about running toward him, but as soon as she moved, her ribs complained. Wincing, she sat back down and waited. Tobias stepped closer as the mist thinned.

  Aren shook his head. "How'd you do it?"

  "I'm an immortal sorcerer," Tobias said, with a grin. "A little thing like being swallowed isn't going to kill me. I can't say it was pleasant, but my shield protected me from the beast's digestive juices. Then I cut my way out with a sword. A bit disgusting, but it worked."

  "Well, I'm glad you're alive," Aren said. "We could use your talents."

  "Do you have any healing abilities?" Kara asked.

  "I'm afraid not. Only a few sorcerers are healers."

  Kara grimaced against another stab of pain. "Then I guess I'll have to push through it. Where do we go from here?"

  "We should head east." Tobias gazed at his compass. "Green City is a few days east of Millersville. It's toward the edge of the Sunset Empire, and it's quite a sight." He smiled at Kara. "I'm sure you'll almost feel at home there."

  "No point waiting around," Aren said. He looked weary and depressed, and his tone was grave. Kara had to give him credit for keeping his mind on the task, but perhaps that was the only way he could avoid thinking about everything he'd lost.

  They followed an actual trail through the mountains this time. With the Sunset Army inside the city, the trail was deserted. Ward posts glowed blue along the edges of their path.

  "Will those really keep the monsters away?" Kara asked.

  "I can't say they're perfect," Tobias replied, "but they stop most of the monsters."

  Their journey was slow. They'd all suffered injuries in their recent efforts. Kara had to rest perhaps twice an hour, when the pain in her chest became too much to bear. They had little in the way of supplies, so Tobias ventured off the path to find monsters. He killed a few, which they ate around a campfire maybe a hundred paces from the road.

  Every day felt the same. Kara's pain gradually subsided, but she still felt she was slowing them down. Soon they left the mountains behind. The road led them to Millersville.

  The city was dead. The buildings remained mostly intact, but it was absent of people. Bodies of townspeople and soldiers still littered the ground, filling the air with a horrible stench. Kara covered her nose with her shirt, but it couldn't block the smell.

  Back home, vultures would have made a feast out of this city. Here, the air was eerily silent. Every step echoed in the mist.

  Kara shivered. "Why are there no vultures? Or monsters of any kind?"

  "The wards around the city are still intact," Tobias said. "Eventually, they'll fail, and monsters will overrun the city. Let's hope we're long gone by then."

  "But couldn't you handle the monsters?" Kara asked.

  "I can only do so much. One monster, or even a few monsters, I can handle. But if dozens or hundreds come at us, I can't stand against them all. Some of the most powerful sorcerers probably could, but I'm not one of them."

  Kara had the feeling Tobias was understating his abilities. Anyone who could battle that massive, three-headed monster in the tunnels had to be powerful. She didn't want to think that others might have more talent than Tobias.

  Aren had been silent awhile, staring at the city with tears in his eyes. He walked among the bodies, stopping a few times and whispering to people he must have known.

  His expression became hard. "I don't care what it takes. I will find whoever ordered this, and I will destroy them."

  Chapter 50: Clan Blue Fish

  Berig didn't look back toward the goblins' settlement as his party pushed through a thickening forest in the dark, leaving the battle far behind. They didn't stop until they'd put miles between themselves and the monsters. Aric looked ready to collapse but didn't complain.

  Around midday, they couldn't travel any farther, so they settled down in a small clearing, where Klint and Lara patrolled the edges of their camp. Danica and Aric remained at the center of the campsite, talking quietly.

  Berig walked alongside Lara. "You sure you wanna come with us?"

  "I do. You're special, Berig, whether you believe it or not." She shrugged. "Besides, I was growing tired of life in the clan. I could use a little adventure."

  "How could you possibly say that after last night?"

  "We all survived, didn't we?"

  "Not sure the goblins made it through."

  "They've been around this long," she said. "I'm sure they found a way."

  "We should've helped them."

  "Perhaps." She peered toward the trees as if she might have heard something. "But they recognized your importance, and they knew you had to survive. Can you truly believe—after everything you've been through, everything you've accomplished—that there isn't something special about you."

  Berig thought back over all the horrors he'd endured. Once, it had been easy to discard the notion that he might be special. Now, he'd seen far too much evidence. How many times could he survive dangerous situations? How many times did he have to save his friends before admitting he was worth something?

  He'd saved them back at the Clan Seagull settlement, when they'd faced that monster. He'd saved them last night. Without his realization about going for the eyes, they would have suffered losses. Hell, he'd even saved Tylen back in Crayden.

  Still, it was hard to erase a lifetime of beliefs. He felt like he was getting closer. Only recently had he realized how much his childhood had scarred him, making him into the sad and defeated person he'd been most of his life. Before Crayden, he hadn't known anything else.

  Now he knew friendship. He knew how it felt to sacrifice for those he cared about. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I am special. But what about your fath
er?"

  "Don't worry about him. I told him I wasn't coming back. I've been ready to leave for a while now. You gave me a good reason. I told you that I wanted to make the Pilgrimage, and I still do. I have natural magical talent, just like you, and we shouldn't waste that talent."

  "But isn't that dangerous?"

  "Life in a clan is dangerous. I don't see how this will be any different."

  Berig chuckled, realizing she had a point there. He prayed this was the last he'd see of the Clanlands. Sometimes he even found himself longing for life in the Empire, where at least he'd found stability living on the streets. Out here, the world was chaotic.

  Klint stepped around to their side of the campsite. "Seen anything dangerous?"

  "No," Lara said. "Seems like the monsters aren't following us."

  "Good," Klint said. "I've had enough of these bloody monsters."

  Berig could hear the bitterness in Klint's voice. The former smuggler had grown more and more uncommunicative with every passing day, and Berig couldn't blame him. They'd faced so many horrors. At this point, Berig figured Klint was only staying with them because he had no other choice. What would happen once they reached civilization?

  After resting, they traveled through the day, then stopped at night. They continued this pattern for days as Lara led them through the forest, taking a path that would keep them away from Clan Blue Fish. According to her, they were much like the other clans and didn't want anybody passing through their territory.

  Berig and the others encountered a few monsters, but nothing they couldn't handle. After tending to minor injuries, they continued on their way. The walking continued in a lifeless motion that felt as if it would never end. Only Danica didn't complain.

  The weather cooled as they traveled east. At last, autumn had taken a firm hold. It was amazing to think that everything started not that long ago, during late summer.

  Just when Berig thought he couldn't walk any farther, a vast mountain range appeared ahead of them. The sight made him want to collapse and lie on the ground forever. Lara hadn't told them how tall these mountains were, dwarfing the mountains of the Empire.