Legend of Fire and Ice

by Xaiver Morden

  “If it is such an important mission, you might need a sorcerer on your side,” Al Sarran said, nodding firmly.

  “Two magicians are always better than one. I will follow my master wherever he goes!” the servant dragon said on a rich voice.

  “I cannot find my place in the world since I lost my wife, Feraldina. An important mission can give a meaning to my pointless days. I follow you captain!” the elf held his weapon above his head.

  What kind of adventure have I gotten myself into? Ancient map, a thing of great importance, involving countries? I always got out of trouble somehow, should destiny chase me anywhere. I can't go back to the town and I'm a little bored traveling alone, so let’s bring it on. thought Everly.

  “If we find some treasures along the way, you won’t be able to get rid of me captain,” the thief girl said with determination.

  “I am happy you decided this way. I will need your help along the way,” Corwen thanked his team.

  “We have to find out who took the map and where it is now. Does anyone have an idea?” he asked them, looking around the company.

  “There is a way, but it requires some preparation and black magic. In other words, we have to wake the dead. I summon the soul of the dead chief assassin and interrogate him about the events,” Al Sarran suggested, narrowing his cat eyes.

  “I don’t mind how you do it. I’m not a member of the inquisition. If it helps to find the map, then do it!” the captain said, rubbing his chin with determination.

  “There’s only one problem. It cannot be performed without a name. I have to know the real, full name of the summoned soul,” the sorcerer shook his head.

  “Let’s find it out, then! There must be some information about him,” the thief girl interrupted them, pointing at the dead body.

  She leaned down, examined his pockets and she found a large copper key.

  “I bet it opens the room with the bars. Let’s go and see!” she waved toward the others.

  Having no better idea, the others followed the young thief with the braided hair. The key fitted perfectly in the lock and the huge door opened with a click. There was a large and a smaller case inside. The large was full of the stolen treasures, gold, silver, jewelry and gems. Everly’s eyes were sparkling.

  “I don’t think we will have any financial problems from now on,” she looked at the others, smiling.

  The smaller one however was full of books, papers and they found a diary in it. Running through the little book, interesting facts were revealed. The following lines were written on the last page.

  Written by Artuli Ardokon chief of the Night Blades assassin clan. Thanks to our source in Eregorn, I learnt that the famous dwarf merchant, named Jahren Galdara will soon arrive to the city of Terran for an important meeting. He found a very valuable object. Some kind of ancient writing or map which leads to a mysterious object. We immediately spread the news around the black market. Many have wanted to acquire it, but the best offer came from someone from the Nozgold Empire, who introduced himself as the Obsidian eyed. We agreed that we would bring him the map for a thousand gold. We planned the attack, managed to find out the route of the merchant and the date of his arrival. The attack was successful, although his guardian captain caused some trouble, I lost a few men because of him, but after being shot with three arrows he fell down the slope and broke his neck. We succeeded in acquiring the object we came for, which was an old, stained leather scroll which pictured a place around the Great Moorland very accurately. It also had some unknown writing on it. We got back to our hiding place in the mountains of the Dukedom, where we agreed to meet the ambassador of the Nozgold Empire.

  Meanwhile, I thought it would be a good idea to copy it and sell it to more customers. If it is worth so much, we could get so much more than a thousand gold. I began to copy it, but it did not turn out as well as the original. I hid it to a secret place, so only I can find it. Diary entry ends here…

  “If the Nozgold Empire has something to do with it, this map really has to be important,” Lowarien said to the others anxiously.

  “I am not dead, Artuli Ardokon, unlike you,” the captain rubbed his nose.

  “I hope the copy is somewhere around here. We have to find it somehow, whatever it takes,” he said, feeling a bit optimistic.

  “If the man with the ring is called Artuli Ardokon, I can summon his soul to get some answers,” Al Sarran replied.

  “Let’s do so my friend. This is the best we can do now!”

  Corwen put his hand on the sorcerer’s shoulder, who nodded and began the preparation.

  He lifted up one of the dead man’s weapons and drew a pentagram on the ground. He lit a candle and sat down with legs crossed to the middle of the symbol with it. He closed his eyes and focused hard, murmuring unknown words and finally he pronounced the name of the deceased.

  “I am calling the immortal soul of Artuli Ardokon to appear among us!”

  As he finished the sentence, a cold breeze crossed the room and the presence of someone could be felt. The others watched the events tensely from a distance. Al Sarran closed his eyes and started to communicate with the newcomer, but no word left his mouth at all. A few minutes later, he blew out the candle and the strange cold breeze disappeared from the room. The rour opened his large cat eyes and looked at the others.

  “I interrogated the soul of the assassin chief. He was the one writing the diary. He told me that the secret case with the copy can be opened by moving one of the torches in the smaller room. The one he called the Obsidian eyed, is actually a half-eyed man. He was familiar with dark magic and had a black obsidian gem instead of an eye. There were five strange figures with him. Their faces were hidden with steel masks. Their bodies were covered with leather armor. One of them had ash grey skin and pointy ears like an elf. They had longer and one shorter curved blade and they could use it like the devil. They had no chance against them. They all died. There was also a stranger in a dark coat. His face was covered with a hood who seemed too large. He moved cautiously, with a creaking sound. He could not have been a human. That’s all what I could learn from the soul,” Al Sarran finished his story.

  “This is essential information my friend. So we are against five dangerous fighters, a sorcerer and a non-human creature,” Corwen concluded.

  “I am worried about the ash grey skinned elf captain!” the Ertonfellian tracker warned them.

  “Who do you think he is?” Corwen asked.

  “An extremely dangerous fighter. A shadow elf. Some of my folks had left our land a few thousand years ago and joined the Nozgold Empire. Their appearance and attitude changed after several magical experiments. Most of them became assassins and acquired some unique warrior skills nobody else possesses on the continent. I once saw one of them fighting and I couldn’t believe my eyes. He killed twenty fighters by himself in a very short time. He might easily kill all of us if we have to face him!” he warned the others.

  “I am no scared of smoky colored warriors with pointy ears!” Tusk bumped his fists confidently.

  “He is not immune to magic is he? We will help you with Dergo so the elf doesn’t cause you so much trouble,” the panther man calmed the others.

  “We only have to find the copy of the map then,” Everly said enthusiastically.

  “I saw a room that might be the one he mentioned. Let’s go back on the aisle and it’s on the left if I remember well.” The thief girl was thinking aloud.

  “Let’s go friends, find that paper thing!” the giant orc tried to seem smart.

  They all headed towards the room the girl had mentioned. Entering the room, they saw an ottoman in the corner, a small wooden desk and a chair. There were two torches facing each other on the wall as the summoned soul has said. The almond-eyed girl tried to move them, but nothing happened with neither of them. The orc pushed Everly away to solve the problem by sheer force.

  “Wait. You will break it!” Everly shouted at her giant mate, who turned to her and g
runted.

  “No breaking stupid girl. Just checking!”

  “You are the stupid one, you huge beast!” she snapped at him without thinking, not being scared of the consequences.

  The orc was huffing, his tiny eyes were burning of fury, but Corwen put his hand on his shoulder.

  “Calm down Tusk! Don’t get upset over this. She is young and hasty. Let it go.”

  He calmed down the giant warrior, who leaned closer to the tiny girl and farted under her nose. He grinned in her face and then walked out from the room proudly, but he turned back to add something.

  “I go drinking friends. I will be in storage if you search me.”

  “Disgusting, filthy animal!”

  Everly was out of her mind, holding her nose to avoid the sickening smell. She tried to shoo away the smell and gasped. She coughed and turned to the others.

  “I just wanted to say before, that the spirit was not wrong. We just need an activating device to switch on the mechanism of the torch. So I will search for it now.”

  She was eagerly touching and knocking the wall, going around the whole room, but she could not find anything. She examined the floor too, covered with rough rocks. Moving one of them, they heard a clicking sound.

  “We got it!” Everly shouted out of joy.

  She stepped to one of the torches and pulling it down, a little drawer popped out of the stone wall. There was a freshly drawn map in it. She took out the paper, rolled it out as the others assembled around her with curiosity. The map depicted mountains and rivers, and the moorland, with a town and a cemetery on one side. Under the drawing there was a text written in a strange, unknown language.

  “It certainly depicts the moorland in the middle of Algaron,” Corwen pointed at the drawing on the map.

  “Yes, as far as I know there are no other moorland this large around here,” the elf agreed.

  “But this area is immense. About the size of a half country and it is at least a thousand miles away from here!” Larianna was worried.

  “This journey would take very long and it would not be free of danger. It seems hopeless, if we want to get there before the men of the obsidian eyed,” the thief girl was playing with her hair.

  “It is not as bad as it seems my adventurer friends,” Dergo the servant dragon said unexpectedly.

  “I am able to open a space gate to the moorland. I have been there once and can recall it in my mind. Although it was a long time ago and as I remember it is a dangerous place, everybody tries to avoid it.”

  “This is great news Dergo! We will prepare for the danger as much as we can,” the captain replied cheerfully.

  “This way we have a great chance to get there before the men of the empire and find whatever this map promises!” Corwen was optimistic.

  “They must have left with magic too. I cannot see any footsteps on the way out. They might be capable of a similar magical way of travelling,” the tall elf warrior warned the others.

  “This scripture is familiar to me,” Al Sarran was frowning deep in his thoughts.

  “It might be written in ancient Ferron language which is a dead language. Only a few dozen people know it nowadays. I had the chance to get to know the secrets of this language during my studies. I cannot fully translate it, but I can decode the essentials,” the sorcerer said.

  “It is important to understand as much as we can and we rely on you, my friend.” Corwen gave the map to the panther man, who buried himself in the mysterious writing.

  Where the Great Moorland is and the city of Xarion stands … There lies the grave of Orender Teroldo, the great warrior, who defeated the demon armies. The crypt that hides the key that shows the resting place of the Fire and Ice…

  “The copy is not punctual. My knowledge is limited. I cannot understand the rest. This is all I can decode.” He gave the map back.

  “This is more than nothing.” The captain put the paper away.

  “So we have to find the grave of Orender Teroldo in the city of Xairon which must be a ruinous, deserted place,” the captain concluded.

  “If we really want to go there, we need some magical help. There can be dangerous creatures, as Dergo said. I will rune magical abilities on your weapons and armors, or even the cloaks.” The panther man looked at the girls.

  “It provides better protection and you can use your weapons quicker and better—injure your enemies more efficiently,” the sorcerer explained.

  “We need all the help we can get. It can come handy during our fights,” the captain nodded.

  “I need all of you to give me your armors and weapons, and the girl’s cloaks. We will start the rune magic with Dergo immediately.”

  They give him their equipment. The elf only gave him his saber. His bow made of elloro was prepared with magic, by the best blacksmiths in the world. Only the mold-green orc was left. They found him drunk and snoring in the storage, next to empty bottles of firewater. One was still in his hand. The sorcerer shook him.

  “Give me your armor and weapon Tusk, so I can put magical power on them!” the catman explained to him squarely.

  “What? How?” the drunk warrior ask uncomprehendingly.

  “Take off your armor and give me your battle axe, you will get them back soon!” he explained it slowly and loudly to convince the orc.

  The orc stood up, giddy, leaned against the wall and slowly, and clumsily took off his chain mail and his weapon.

  “But give it back to me or I will strangle you!” he grunted incomprehensively.

  He slipped back to the ground, took a sip from the firewater and fell asleep immediately. The sorcerer just waved a hand and left the stinking giant behind.

  The others lit a fire outside the cave and put up the tents. Nobody wanted to spend the night among the dead bodies in the cave. They released the assassins’ horses so they could eat and drink. The sun went down behind the mountains, when Al Sarran returned with Dergo on his shoulder. His face was exhausted. There was a coin-sized area in all the armors and weapons with letters written with alchemist ink on them. This type of ink turned out to be more resistant, than the regular one.

  “I am done with the rune magic. I have to warn you that the alchemist ink I used is only intact for a few weeks, or maybe a month. If the drawing is injured, the magical power is lost. I would need more time and the skills of a blacksmith master for more resistant carvings. That is all we have for now,” the sorcerer explained.

  “No problem Al Sarran. This will do.” The captain took on his weapons.

  Corwen swished his twin blades and felt like the long swords became one with his arms. They were easier to control than before. The others had the same sentiment so they complimented the sorcerer and the dragon appreciatively. Tusk floundered to the fire too.

  “What’s up mates? What next?” he asked with blurry eyes.

  “My constantly thirsty friend, we found the copy of the map and tomorrow we are heading to the moorland, following its instructions,” the captain answered, putting his hand on the giant’s shoulder.

  “It is good news fellow. This was a long day, so I go to sleep then.” He waved goodnight to the others.

  He stood up and stumbled to his tent.

  “Does anyone feel like playing cards?” the sorcerer asked the company around the fire with sparking eyes.

  Meanwhile he got out a pack of cards from his caftan.

  “You want to play again, master, you lost the last time!” The little dragon was shaking his head.

  “It is the game that matters, not winning or losing, Dergo!” he informed his servant sitting on his shoulder.

  “I will play with you with pleasure, fortune is my good friend,” the almond-eyed girl said, smiling.

  Al Sarran and Everly were playing next to the fire, with laughter mixed with swearing. Lowarien got out his pipe and began the night watch with clouds of smoke emitting from his mouth. His thoughts were revolving around the shadow elf, the traitor of his nation.

  If we m
eet brother, I will do everything to send you to the underworld. Even the captain cannot know how dangerous the elves of Nozgold are. But I do know and will do everything to kill at least one of them! This mission ahead of us also seems crucially important. If we really find the relic, we can save thousands of lives in the upcoming war, bringing peace to this world again, he thought.

  A few hours later he was exchanged by Corwen, together with the ginger-red haired beauty, when everyone else went to sleep.

  “You are an insistent woman, Larianna,” he broke the awkward silence.

  “Why do you think so?” the beauty next to him asked, covering herself in a warm blanket.

  “You offered yourself to me upon our first encounter and I refused you at the inn when I accepted you in the team. Then I told you the whole truth about the map and you’re still here at my side. Why are you still here? You could have left easily,” he looked at Larianna curiously with his dark brown eyes.

  “I like danger and strong men who know what they want,” the ginger-red haired beauty replied, looking at the captain with sparkling, wistful eyes.

  Corwen caressed her face and leaning closer, he kissed her mouth, and the girl kissed him back. She threw the blanket off herself and quickly sat in the man’s lap and embracing each other, they continued kissing passionately.

  “We should stand guard,” Corwen said with the Larianna in his lap.

  “We are, just having some fun in the meantime!”

  She began to undress the captain and, as they got rid of the unnecessary clothes, they made passionate love. The woman was moving her waist in his lap like a demon, moaning, masterfully performing the art of love. After the act, which lasted for half an hour, they were lying on the ground, gasping and sweating in each other’s arms.

  “You are such a beast! It’s been a long time since I was with such a passionate woman.” He was caressing the girl’s leg.

  “Did you like it?” she asked flirtatiously, stroking the captain’s hairy chest.