Bren was coughing and carrying Rufus and Holli out of the river and up the bank. They seemed to be unconscious. He gently laid them on the ground and then collapsed, another fit of coughing taking over. Olivia ran to the bundle of black rags that she knew was Gauntlet. She lifted him and carried him over to the others. He was surprisingly light. Jin, Locke, Kai-Tu, and Haunches hurried over with Locke carrying Grimwitch in his arms.
“Bren!” Jin shouted, panting. “Are you alright?”
“Aye…” Bren replied through gurgling coughs. “But I don’t know about these three. Where’s the other spindelum?”
“He’s here,” Locke said, lifting Grimwitch. “He’s fine. I think he’s just fainted.”
Olivia fell to her knees and laid Gauntlet beside Rufus and Holli. She put an ear to each of their chests and discovered that they weren’t breathing. She had learned resuscitation in physical education with Mr. Schafer, but she wasn’t sure the procedure would work on these creatures. But she didn’t have any time to wonder or waste, so she tried. She began with Rufus, closing his nose and giving him a small breath.
“What are you doing?” Kai-Tu shouted.
“Trying to resuscitate them,” said Olivia, panting. “I don’t know of any other way to save them!”
“That technique is only good as a last resort. It can be damaging,” Kai-Tu said. “Besides, there’s water in their lungs. They won’t last long that way.” He quickly looked around, scouting the land around them. Then he bolted and was out of sight before anyone had a chance to speak.
Olivia started to cry, the tears falling on Rufus’s small body. She didn’t know what to do. She suddenly thought of trying to pull the water out of his lungs, like Rufus had pulled the venom out of Jin’s shoulder, but she didn’t know where to begin. She could end up injuring them even more.
“Cheep! What happened!” Kili said. “Too fast! Tweet tweet! Couldn’t keep up!”
“The river currents were too strong and destroyed our boat,” Bren said. “Rufus, Holli, and Gauntlet aren’t lookin’ so good.”
“Oh, no! Cheep!” Kili twittered. “I will fly ahead and find Thunc. Tweet Tweet!”
Kai-Tu suddenly returned carrying a handful of herbs. He snatched a bottle from Olivia’s bandolier, uncorked it, and shoved the plants into it.
“What–” Olivia began.
“Shh!” hissed Kai-Tu. He closed his eyes, putting his free hand next to the bottle. Before her eyes, Olivia saw the plants in the bottle wilt and water dripping from Kai-Tu’s hand. He quickly uncorked the bottle and removed the dried plants. He then shoved a piece of plant in each of the unconscious creatures’ mouths. Inserting the piece into Gauntlet’s mouth proved more difficult because he had to dodge a pair of fangs.
After only a few seconds, all three began to cough up water. They sat up and sputtered, spitting out the plant Kai-Tu had placed in their mouths. Rufus coughed his up in his hand and looked down at it. He turned his gaze upward.
“Who…” he coughed. “Who did this?”
“Kai-Tu,” Olivia said, stunned that Rufus was awake and talking.
“Kai…Tu?” Rufus said, closing his eyes. He seemed to be in a daze. “My head…”
“Rufus?” Holli muttered as she sat up slowly. She stood up, hobbled over to Rufus, and fell on her knees beside him. “Oh, Rufus… I’m so glad you’re alright.”
“I’ll be distilled!” Rufus exclaimed. “Holli, thank goodness you’re okay! Who else was injured? Did Kai-Tu save us all?”
“You, Holli, and Gauntlet were unconscious,” said Bren. “Then Olivia tried to save you, but Kai-Tu did some kind of quick work with some odd plant and then you three were back to normal!”
Everyone looked at Kai-Tu, who was looking down at his feet. Gauntlet stood up and bowed to him, then hurried over to tend to Grimwitch. Rufus smiled at Kai-Tu.
“Kai-Tu, my boy,” Rufus said. “You are a genius in the making! This is brilliant work!” He jumped up and shook Kai-Tu’s hand vigorously. “Where did you learn these skills? I must know!”
“Well…I’ve always been interested in remedology,” Kai-Tu said, scratching his head nervously. “But I just learned about the Vorax fern yesterday at the Nocturnal Archives.”
“That is very impressive, my boy!” Rufus exclaimed. “I shall be happy to teach you more once we’ve returned! What do you say?”
“Oh…” Kai-Tu was a bit thrown off by the sudden praise. “That’d be great…but you’d have to convince my dad, and that’s not gonna happen.”
“I’ll be happy to speak with him,” Rufus said. “This is fine work, Kai-Tu. Not just anyone can do what you’ve done.”
“Thanks,” Kai-Tu said. He looked at the ground for a moment and then back at Rufus and smiled.
* * * * *
After the group had gathered their strength and dried out their clothes, they ate a quick meal and resumed their journey. Olivia’s sack was waterproof, so her father’s journal hadn’t been harmed. Thunc and Kili had rejoined the group, and the others filled them in on the details of the last few hours.
As the group passed around the bend of the Weeping River, Olivia saw their destination in the distance. The Lich King’s fortress was a black stain on the beautiful rocky cliff that rose high above the Cerulean Sea. She stopped abruptly, her breathing halted and her heart beating wildly. The time had finally come, but she hadn’t been prepared for her reaction. She was terrified of what lay beyond the fortress walls. As she stood there, her muscles stiff, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She snapped out of her daze and looked over. Locke was standing beside her, looking at her with an understanding but encouraging expression. Olivia closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and relaxed. Locke brought his fist up and pointed his thumb upward. Olivia returned the thumbs-up, smiling appreciatively. Locke helped her catch up to the rest of the group, and they began their ascent to the fortress.
Interlude
The man suddenly stood up. He sensed something. An unusual group was headed toward New Aeldyn. He floated down from his throne, stroking his pointed goatee, and turned to SAGAX.
“SAGAX, a group of Unenlightened is headed this way,” he said. “They seem to be coming willingly. Do you think people have finally started to realize that I’m doing a good thing here?” He chuckled.
“It’s possible,” SAGAX said. “Though, until I learned what curiosity was, my life was a lot like life here. I wouldn’t really want to go back to that.”
“Shut up!” the man snapped. “I’ve given these people a purpose! I’ve provided them with a life based around structure. Life without rules and order is pointless. It’s chaotic and miserable.”
“But their lives had rules and some sort of order before,” said SAGAX. “It’s just that you’ve lost touch with it. You see I’ve learned of a force that–”
“Shut up!” the man yelled. “I think maybe you’ve been learning a little too much in your spare time! You would be wiped from the face of this planet if you weren’t so useful. I can promise you that.”
The man turned and floated back to his throne. He sat, bent forward, and placed his head in his hands. He closed his eyes and a vivid memory shot through his mind. His eyes snapped open, and he took in a sharp breath. He shook his head, trying to do away with the memory and the dreaded emotions that came with it, but they were strong and made him shake from within.
“I’m… all alone,” he mumbled. He looked off in the distance, as if looking for something he had lost long, long ago. “I will find you…” He jerked his head and stared down at the floor, anger spreading across his face. “Why don’t you understand?!” he hissed. He was breathing heavily.
SAGAX drifted jerkily over to the man. “My apologies, sir. Please forget that I ever said anything.”
The man came out of the trance, the angry expression still etched in his face. He growled as he looked over at SAGAX. “You better be glad I need you,” he said, then crossed his arms and turned his gaze to the end of the hall
toward the entrance. The group of Unenlightened was pressing on toward New Aeldyn and would arrive within a few hours. He wouldn’t have been too intrigued if it weren’t for one surprisingly peculiar member he detected.
“SAGAX,” said the man. “Go have our military forces stand guard outside New Aeldyn. When the group arrives, instruct them only to allow the girl through. Keep the rest outside the walls. Perhaps I’ll have a use for them later.” He laughed, a wide grin spreading across his face. “I think I may have just found New Aeldyn a queen.”
Chapter Sixteen
The Fortress
Olivia’s group continued in silence. The reality of the situation had hit them, and the tension grew as they drew nearer to the fortress. All across the meadow, they could see groups of creatures walking away from the fortress. They were pale and weary, much like Morragin had looked. The creatures walked, staring straight ahead, as if on a very serious mission.
“Are these…the Taken?” Olivia asked quietly.
“Yes,” Rufus said grimly. “According to what Morragin was saying, they are sent out to gather more Aeldynians. But for what?”
“I don’t know,” Holli said. She sniffed and began to cry. “Poor Ronald…”
“There, there, Holli,” Rufus said, grabbing her hand. “We’ll find out soon enough…”
“But what if he’s like that arachon?” Holli sniffled. “What if he’s mindless? Or what if he’s…” She began to sob.
“Holli, I’m so sorry about your son,” Jin said. “I hope that we’ll be able to find him inside the fortress. We’ll do our best to help you. However, right now, we need to help Olivia get inside safely so that we have a chance.”
“Aye, he’s right,” Bren said gently. “We’re goin’ to have to be on our toes around this place.”
Holli wiped her eyes. “I know,” she said, sniffling. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, Holli,” said Olivia. “We’re all worried right now.”
They were getting close enough to the fortress that Olivia could see tall walls of black metal jutting out of the ground toward the sky. Watch towers stood at each corner of the fortress, looming ominously over the land. A black cloud of smoke rose from inside the walls, causing the fortress to be surrounded in a hazy, dark fog. The group halted.
“My…” said Bren, staring up at the fortress walls, his mouth hanging open. “What a giant ugly waste of metal this is…”
“What is all this?” Locke asked.
“This is worse than I imagined,” Olivia said, looking up at the fortress walls. “It’s just like the orphanage. I spent my entire life locked behind walls. All of the land in my world was wasted and destroyed, and we were forced to live inside a concrete fortress.”
“This is scary,” Locke said. “Why would he build something like this?”
“We don’t know too much about your world, Olivia, but I do know that if it’s anythin’ like this, I don’t want to know about it,” Bren said.
“This is only the beginning, Bren,” Olivia said. “If the Lich King continues what he’s doing, all of Aeldyn will end up like my world. He’ll destroy the land and its people in the name of progress.”
Everyone looked from the fortress to Olivia, all frightened by her words. Olivia didn’t even know herself what she was saying, but looking at the fortress in front of her angered her. Rage welled up in the pit of her stomach and forced her hand to curl into a tight fist. She stepped forward a few paces.
“This must end,” she whispered.
Olivia strode toward the black walls, determined. She knew that whatever lay beyond the walls was exceedingly powerful and likely far too much for them to handle, but she didn’t care. All she wanted was to put an end to whoever threatened the peaceful people of Aeldyn. The company looked around at each other for a moment, confused. Then they hurried to follow Olivia. Soon they were near enough to the fortress to see its massive doors.
Two gargantuan metal statues stood before the fortress. Orbs of lightning flickered in their chests, pulsating with an odd rhythm. Suddenly, a horn sounded inside the fortress walls, and the black doors began to slowly swing open.
Groups of Taken, wearing grey uniforms and carrying weapons at their sides, marched out of the fortress in unison and lined up outside the doors, guarding the entrance. Olivia strode up to them, staring at them grimly. These creatures reminded her of the armies of her world, of the groups of men and women who fought other nations in destructive and senseless wars.
“Let us through!” Olivia demanded, surprised by her own harshness.
An ungulhak from the front of the line walked toward her. He stared down at her, his pale grey face expressionless.
“The Grimoire wishes to speak with you,” he said in a deep voice.
“And who might that be?” asked Olivia. She was still furiously determined, although the army in front of her frightened her.
“How can we expect the Unenlightened to know?” the ungulhak asked. “He is our king and will soon be yours. Please proceed through the doors.” He stepped out of the way, revealing a path through the army to the doors.
“Very well,” said Olivia. She turned and beckoned for the company to follow.
“They will stay out here,” the ungulhak said. “Only you are to enter.”
“Oh, we’ll be goin’, my friend,” Bren said.
“Indeed,” said Jin. “We’re going with Olivia, so I suggest you step aside. We don’t want trouble, but if we have to defend ourselves, we will.”
“It’s a pity how stupid you Unenlightened are,” the ungulhak quipped. “You don’t understand what it means to live. We have perfect order here in New Aeldyn, and we have secured our new home with fearsome defenses.”
“It’s a pity how stupid you are,” Olivia said. “I’ve traveled with these people through Aeldyn and have seen how wonderful life here can be. You’ve been tricked! Tricked into believing that whatever order your king has provided is needed to live!” She crossed her arms. “Do you know what happens when you make life into what your king has made it? You get chaos. People become hungry for power and forsake others to obtain more. They claim that progress will create a better future, when in reality what they’re doing for the sake of progress is destroying the world!”
“Be silent, foolish girl!” the ungulhak ordered. “We will hear no more of this!” He turned to the soldiers behind him. “Eliminate these Unenlightened. I will take the girl to the Grimoire myself!” He motioned for the troops to move out.
Olivia immediately held her staff in the air and closed her eyes. She imagined both of her hands forcing the entire army back. Suddenly, a wave of force burst from the staff and spread through the army, causing them to collapse. Olivia stood for a moment, shocked that she was able to do such a thing, but she had no time to waste.
“Hurry!” Olivia shouted to the others. “Form a circle! Do whatever you can to defend yourselves, but we don’t want to hurt them!”
The army of Taken slowly came to its feet. The troops began to advance again, holding swords and maces in front of them. Olivia noticed that none of them were performing magic. An imp rushed forward and swung its sword full force at Bren who quickly pulled his hammer from his beard and blocked the blow.
“They’re very weak!” Bren shouted. “If we can hold ‘em off until we make it to the doors, we can slip through and shut ‘em out!”
“A good plan,” yelled Jin from behind him. “But even though they are weak, they outnumber us and may overpower us!”
The army formed a circle around the company. Rufus, Holli, Kai-Tu, and Haunches stood in the center of the group. They were frightened and unable to fight. Bren circled the group, blowing bursts of flame at the army to keep them back. Meanwhile, Jin swung at the Taken with his massive scythe, trying to intimidate them rather than harm them. On the other side of the circle, Thunc raised his huge fists and brought them down hard on the ground, causing it to ripple under the soldiers’ feet. Many of them fel
l to the ground. Feeling unsafe on Thunc’s head, Kili flew and perched atop Rufus’s hat.
Olivia looked to make sure that everyone was safe and noticed that Grimwitch and Gauntlet were missing. She frantically looked in the chaos to locate them and finally spotted them near the gates of the fortress. Grimwitch pounced onto the back of one of the soldiers while Gauntlet wound a thick web around its feet. Grimwitch then jumped from the soldier’s back, causing it to stumble forward and trip. They continued this maneuver until many of the soldiers were lying on the ground, unable to get back to their feet.
The company members slowly inched their way toward the doors. Olivia was about to try to force the troops back again when a giant metal hand closed around her. She screamed as one of the statues from the doorway picked her up and carried her away from the group.
“Olivia!” Locke screamed. He dashed toward the automaton that had captured Olivia, ignoring the soldiers around him. A kettu soldier struck him hard with a mace, knocking him to the ground. Bren and Jin called out to him, and he heard Olivia scream again. He shook his head and got back to his feet. He pulled his violin from his back and began playing a soft melody, and the soldiers around him began to fall to their knees. Locke sprinted toward the automaton, playing his song furiously. The automaton was through the doors which were beginning to close behind it. Locke ran faster. With one final lunge forward, Locke dove through the crack of the doors just as they closed.
The Last Fairy Tale Page 21
