Metal and Magic: A Fantasy Journey

by Steve Windsor

  “Thank you for your service to your kingdom. You may leave.”

  “How many men did you see in the compound Sam?” Max asked.

  “I think I counted fifteen heads.” Sam replied.

  “Ah so with these three down and out we are left with twelve.”

  They turned and looked at each other as the three soldiers stood perplexed by their banter.

  “TWELVE” they both said simultaneously.

  “Alright, out you go.” The unfriendly gate guard moved in with his spear. He and the other guards swung the long handles of their spears at Max and Sam. By the time the guards had finished their swings Max and Sam were already behind them. Two of the guards fell to their knees and then to the ground unconscious. The gate guard turned around surprised to see that his spear had been sliced in half. His eyes widened in fear as he pulled out his sword and violently rushed towards Max. Max quickly opened up a portal and was again behind the guard by the time he had swung his sword. The guard turned around in a sideswipe but had his swing deflected downwards by one of Max’s daggers. He looked up only to meet the handle of the other dagger rammed fiercely into the side of his head. He too fell unconscious. Max glanced at Leo who had been standing there in shock.

  “He was yours to take out you know?”

  “Well... well... I...”

  “Don’t explain yourself to him.” Sam interjected smiling. “He’s just teasing.”

  “Gentlemen.” Max said, stripping one of the unconscious guards of their armor. “It is time to become proud soldiers of Angweleth.”

  Davydd stood in front of the lead death class soldier who had been interrogating Ovar, with his hands bound in front of him by chains and a metal lock. The soldier stood with his hands behind his back, appraising Davydd. He walked behind him slowly and deliberately, and then circled his way back around.

  “This is indeed a pleasant surprise. Though in some ways, I’m rather disappointed. You see I was looking forward to the chase... looking forward to hunting you down like the animal that you are.”

  “My apologies for ruining your fun.”

  “Oh not to worry. There are other ways to have a good time. You see, I have questions for you.”

  “And I will answer them as best as I possibly can... on the condition that you let my father go.”

  The soldier shrugged.

  “Depending on the validity of your answers, that can be arranged.”

  “Fair enough... I understand that I am in no position to make demands but before I answer any of your questions, I have one more request.”

  “And what might that be?”

  “I’d like to see my father first. I want him to know that I am alright.”

  The soldier looked at Davydd for a while.

  “Very well.” He finally said. “Guards!”

  Two other soldiers stepped into the room.

  “Take Davydd to the prison quarters. After he has exchanged a few words of reconciliation, bring him back here.”

  He turned to Davydd.

  “Do not mistake my generosity as a sign of weakness. Indeed if you come back here making demands or refuse me the answers I seek in any small capacity, I will visit upon you a kind of pain that would make even Feona herself flinch. Now be gone.”

  One of the soldiers grabbed Davydd by the arm and led him out of the room while the other walked in front of them. They walked down a flight of stairs and out the door of the main building. At the gate and watchtowers, Leo, Max and Sam watched with the utmost concentration, as the two guards led Davydd into the building where prisoners were kept. The interior of the building was dark and dreary. Cobwebs hung precariously low from the wall corners and ceiling. The door led into an open space that had been converted into the dungeon warden’s office. There was a wooden table with a slow burning oil lamp on it, as the only source of light and the warden, who was seated behind his desk, strained to write into a big black book he had in front of him. When he saw the soldiers enter with Davydd, he closed the book, which had a lock built into it. He picked up a key, inserted it into the books keyhole, and turned. There was a clicking sound. The warden shoved the book aside and stood up addressing the soldiers.

  “Another prisoner?”

  “A visitor.” The soldier holding Davydd’s arm replied. “At least for now.”

  “Can you take us to Ovar Tardust’s cell?” The other soldier asked.

  “Follow me.” The warden walked through the open space that was his office, past an archway and then followed the pathway that turned left. The guards, along with Davydd, followed suit. The pathway taken by the warden extended both ways across the warden’s office and also had a junction heading straight ahead from the office, which formed a T-shaped hallway system. Prison cells lined the walls of each hall way and in between each cell was a flame torch casting a flickering yellow pool of light, amidst the darkness. They walked past seven sets of cells before the warden stopped and pointed to the cell on the left.

  “There he is men.” He said with an air of authority. Inside the cell sat Ovar, leaned against a wall with his face bruised, his hair and clothes matted with blood. His eyes widened with surprise when he looked up.

  “Davydd?” He stumbled and crawled to the cell’s metal bars.

  “Is it really you?”

  Davydd walked over to the cell and clasped his hands over Ovar’s, reassuringly. Slowly Ovar’s happiness was replaced with concern.

  “Why are you here? You shouldn’t be here! You need to leave!”

  “That’s enough.” One of the guards said, moving towards Davydd.

  “You’ve seen the pitiful sight of your father. Up on your feet.”

  Davydd did not move. Instead he fixed his gaze on Ovar as his deep-sea blue eyes slowly turned hazel. Ovar looked on in surprise.

  “You... Leo...” The words were barely audible

  “It’s beginning to wear off.” Leo responded. “Don’t worry. I will get you out of here.”

  CHAPTER FOUR: Rikard Miljorn

  “On your feet!” Yelled the soldier again as he made to grab Leo by the shoulder. Right as he made contact, Leo whirled around and rammed his right elbow into the soldier’s face, who staggered back and fell to the floor. The second soldier drew his sword and thrust it at Leo, who promptly used the chains binding his hands to block and stop the forward motion of the sword. Leo twisted his hands clockwise and yanked them down, pulling the sword down unto his raised knee. The sword landed, flat face first, on his knee and the resulting pressure, popped open the lock. As the chains fell off, the first soldier got up to his feet and unsheathed his sword. Leo stood with his hands to his side as the two soldiers pointed their swords at him.

  “I suggest you surrender quietly prisoner.” The first soldier said.

  “You have no weapon and I’d hate to kill you in cold blood.”

  “I am sorry.” Leo replied. “But I can’t do that.”

  “Regret that in the realm of Feona.” Said the second soldier as they both began their attack on Leo. Leo quickly put his hand behind his back and in one swift motion brought it forward parrying their sword swipes simultaneously. Before both soldiers could react, Leo thrust his hand forward and a stab wound appeared on the first soldier’s abdomen.

  “Wha...” A blow to the side of the neck cut off the second soldier. As he fell to his knees clutching his bleeding neck, he looked up at Leo in fear and shock before his eyes rolled and he toppled over. Both soldiers were dead. The warden turned to run but Leo put his arm in front of him. The warden stopped dead in his tracks. He looked at Leo’s arm and saw that his fingers were curled around as if he was holding something. Slowly, a hilt came into visibility and then the base of a blade and then the whole blade. Drops of the dead soldiers’ blood splotched unto the floor right in front of the warden’s feet. Sweat poured down the warden’s forehead and face.

  “I have heard stories about a power such as this before.” He said in a shaky voice.

  “
Men dropping like flies from the blows of an unseen attacker or an attacker with an unseen weapon. You are a man who fades away with the wind and the one who exemplifies the unseen nature of death. You must be one of the guardians of Angweleth.”

  “Right you are. And if you want to keep breathing, you will tell me which one of those keys opens Ovar’s cell.”

  With shaky hands, the warden reached down towards his belt line and unhooked a bunch of keys. He fiddled with it until he came across the one he was looking for. He separated it from the bunch of keys and handed it to Leo. Leo took the key from the warden.

  “Thank you. This will hurt a bit.”

  He reached back and slammed the hilt of his sword into the side of the warden’s head, rendering him unconscious. Next, he slowly laid the body down to the ground and then went to free Ovar. Leo helped Ovar out, supporting his weight by propping himself under Ovar’s left arm.

  “L...Leo.” Ovar said weakly.

  “Not now master. Let’s get out of here.”

  “Your illusion is beginning to wear off.”

  “Well... they can’t tell I’m not Davydd if they can’t see us. Not that it matters now.”

  At that moment, Ovar and Leo became invisible.

  Meanwhile, in the main building, the death class soldier paced back and forth impatiently.

  “Don’t you think too much time has passed Farok?” He said stopping.

  “I agree. I’ll go check on them.” Farok turned and left the room.

  Outside, Sam and Davydd kept watch from the two watchtowers, while Max stood at the gated entrance. They watched as Farok stepped out of the main building and headed towards the dungeons.

  “Don’t you think we should do something?” Davydd asked as Farok stopped at the entrance.

  “Not at all.” Sam replied watching intently. “Leo has the uncanny knack of remaining unseen. We do nothing unless we absolutely have to.” Davydd sighed and looked around the tower room. Much to his pleasant surprise, he saw a bow and a bag of arrows sitting next to it. Davydd picked up the bag and slung its handle over his neck and shoulder. He pulled out an arrow and got a feel for the bow and its tension, before setting himself up. Next, he placed the arrow on the bow’s string and found his mark on Farok’s chest. He would shoot if need be.

  In the meantime, Ovar and Leo tiptoed quietly as Farok stood outside the entrance, calling out to the warden and the two soldiers that had gone in. He was standing very close to the door but far enough so that Ovar and Leo could sneak by. As they attempted to do this, two other soldiers in the outpost made their way to Farok’s position.

  “You two get in there and grab a torch for light.”

  Ovar and Leo quickly pulled back as the two soldiers made their way towards the warden’s quarters. One of them grabbed a torch on the wall. Ovar and Leo had already made it back to the entrance and as Farok stepped in, they stepped out. That was when it happened. Ovar’s leg stepped on Farok’s cape long enough for him to feel a slight tug as he walked in. Farok turned around to see no one behind him. Ovar had already gently lifted his foot from Farok’s cape. He and Leo crouched completely still and in dead silence as Farok looked at his cape suspiciously. His eyes moved from his cape and stopped at the place where Leo and Ovar lay crouched.

  In the watchtower, Davydd pulled back on the bowstring and took aim at Farok’s chest plate. Max, who had opened a portal up to his watch tower, spoke.

  “It seems we might have to intervene after all. When I say so, make sure you do not miss your mark my friend. This will all happen very quickly.”

  “I wouldn’t miss in my sleep.” Replied Davydd as he recalled the broken nose he had suffered from Farok during the forest chase. Back at the entrance to the prison quarters, Farok had crouched low and was reaching out towards Leo and Ovar. Davydd held the arrow steadily on the bowstring.

  “Now.” Max said as he disappeared. Davydd let go of the arrow and it flew through the air with a thwack sound coming from the recoil of the strings. Max appeared in front of Farok, swinging his dagger down on Farok’s outstretched hand, menacingly. Farok instinctively recoiled and then drew his sword. The arrow hit the left side of his chest plate with such force, that it pierced a hole through it and pushed him back. It was all the time Max needed, as he turned grabbed both Ovar and Leo and portal traveled back to the gate.

  “Guards!” Farok yelled as he struggled to get back on his feet.

  Sam had already begun opening the gates of the outpost.

  “We need to go now men!” He yelled. Max was watching Farok get back on his feet. As Farok straightened up, Max appeared in front of him, in midair and with his dagger swinging towards Farok’s neck. However, much to his surprise, he looked down to see Farok had leaned over backwards avoiding his swing, and was swinging back with his sword heading for Max’s waist. Max vanished right as the sword swung through. He reappeared near the entrance of the outpost.

  “Get together everyone.” He said as the soldiers raced towards them. Everyone squeezed in together around Max, and they were gone by the time the Soldiers got to them. Farok grimaced in pain as he tried to pull the arrow from his flesh and armor. It had barely missed his heart, but it was still embedded just below his left shoulder.

  “Don’t.” A hand stopped him. Farok looked up and saw that it was his fellow death class soldier.

  “Trudor...” Farok muttered through clenched teeth.

  “We’ll take you to the healer who will properly tend to your wound. I need to send word back to Alvo. These men were no ordinary men and that boy Davydd... he almost killed two of us in two days.”

  Farok scoffed.

  “He was lucky on both counts.”

  “Luck sometimes favors the strong my friend. I will leave the soldiers here with orders. We need to return to Alvo as soon as we get this arrow out of your chest.”

  “You were born into a world at war, and in turmoil. At a time when darkness was all your parents knew; you brought a new light and a new happiness into their lives. Your father, Rikard Miljorn, along with the kings of the other six kingdoms of Terrianus, had been fighting a long war that was half way through its seventh year. It was a surprise we lasted so long. Our enemy was faster, stronger, just as smart and sometimes wiser. They were known as the Dragol. Despite their power, they lacked something that we had... heart. The Dragol are a race born from Chaos. They had been cast into another realm that ran parallel to ours, when the seven great gods were born from their elder god, Chaos. Left all alone in the darkest crevices of existence, their anger at the gods grew and so did their jealousy towards us... humans. They sought revenge against the gods for deserting them, and to do that, they sought to wipe out all of humanity.”

  Ovar coughed and Davydd brought him some water in a wooden cup. Ovar half sat up and gulped down the cup’s contents before laying back down slowly.

  “You don’t need to speak any more, father.” Davydd said with a worried look on his face. He looked at the others who were all seated around the room’s curved walls except for Matilom. They nodded their agreement. Matilom stood silently near the door with his walking stick. His face was serious but his eyes showed his concern. He nodded his agreement as well. However, Ovar was adamant to finish.

  “Don’t worry about... me.” He said amidst heavy breathing.

  “I’ll be fine.”

  He motioned for Davydd to sit back down next to his bed. When Davydd had done so, Ovar continued.

  “You are probably wondering how wiping out humanity would aid the Dragol’s cause for revenge against the great gods. And I tell you now; it wasn’t just because our deaths would aggrieve the gods. The gods need us for their very survival.”

  “How is this so?” Davydd was visibly perplexed.

  “After the seven greats were born from Chaos, they fought an endless war amongst each other for control of all that is. But each of the seven is evenly matched against any of the other. No one can defeat or destroy the other without being kille
d themselves. Also, their struggle was beginning to destroy all that is, itself. They had to find a way to stop the fighting. To do this, the goddess of life created the stars and the worlds. She created everything we can see in the night sky and then she created life... us. Everything in all that is, is sustained by the power of the gods, and nothing needs more sustenance than living beings... like you and me.”

  “So... we draw power from the gods...” Davydd said as if in an epiphany.

  “Yes and in turn, it leaves them too weak to fight and squabble amongst each other, but powerful enough to reign supreme over us and everything else.”

  “Everything else... except the dragol.”

  “Exactly. The dragol are the only other beings apart from the gods themselves that are capable of killing a god. Being born from Chaos, they are remnants of a once powerful force and as such the seven great gods have no sovereignty over them. But to kill a god is a monumental task even for a dragol of immense power. To kill a human on the other hand is not so difficult.” Ovar turned to Davydd.

  “It is in your eyes. Now you see their plan.”

  “Yes... wipe out humanity, and power returns to the gods. Power returns to the gods, and they will recover the urge to fight. Watch them destroy each other and take control of all of that is for themselves.”

  “That was the plan. However, plans seldom work out the way we intend them to. Humanity proved to be a very worthy adversary for the dragol and the seven great kingdoms, stopped warring amongst each other, uniting against a common enemy. But we were not alone in our quest to defeat the dragol. While we all worship all the gods, each kingdom as you know, has a patron god. Ours is Feona, the goddess of death. Each god lent its power to its kingdom in the form of powerful swords. These swords contained a part of the very essence of their godly makers and with their power; we turned the tide on the dragol. Of course, your father received a sword from Feona as well. However, Feona is the goddess of death for a reason. Her duty is to transport the souls of the dead to the afterlife and she rules in her dominion. She also craves the strongest of souls, the purest of hearts. Warriors and heroes alike sparkle to her eyes like diamonds among stones and my boy; your father was a cave filled with diamonds. So while she gave him her sword, she did so with a condition.”