by Caden Nantes
Barind and Aeyn seemed unaffected as they exchanged blows with the monster, who disarmed Aeyn, sending his sword flying. Sylin stumbled out of the tent, two daggers in hand. He turned toward Anthony, and seeing him cowering on the ground, started to chant a spell. "Couragos nefos energi!"
Immediately, the fear drained from Anthony's body and he was able to stand again. He picked up his spear after seeing Sylin chant the same words to Tristan. He threw the spear, which the creature effortlessly turned into splinters. Anthony grit his teeth as he buckled on his sword belt and drew his blade. The ring on his finger turned into a leather-padded buckler, as he raced toward the beast, case of spears slung across his back.
Arrows streaked toward the monster, who swatted them away as if they were flies. Aeyn was now fighting with only a dagger, as his other sword seemed to still be in the tent. Anthony adjusted his course, entering the tent flap and grabbing Aeyn's sword. He exited the tent and called out to Aeyn, "Catch!"
Aeyn caught the sword, nodding to Anthony before leaping back into battle. Anthony resumed running toward the creature as it swung its arm at Aeyn's chest, sending him flying through the air and into the side of the mountain. Barind held his shield up before him, having lost his mace and axe.
An arrow pierced the eye of the beast, causing it to roar in outrage and clutch at the wound. Seeing his chance, Anthony dropped his sword in exchange for a spear as his buckler turned back into a ring. He gripped the spear with both hands and charged.
He leapt into the air as the monster turned to him. Anthony let out an inhuman screech as he buried the spear through the beast's eye socket and into its skull. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion.
The creature's arm swung out toward Tristan's throat, who rushed toward the battle, blades drawn. Anthony seemed to shrink and lengthen, his arms turned light, and his feet turned heavy. He used his wings to propel him around the monster. He dug his talons into its back and lifted it into the air. The wailing became louder due to his refined senses, and terror nearly gripped him again. He pushed it away. He was the predator. This was his prey.
He slung the beast off the edge of a cliff, and it fell into the rushing waters below. Suddenly, Anthony heightened again, his senses dulled, and his wings turned back into arms. He fell to the ground, and as the blackness took over, he thought back to the thrill of the hunt.
∆∆∆
Anthony groaned as he opened his eyes. Sunlight assaulted his vision, and threw a hand up to shield himself. He winced and tried to sit up, surprised to find that he could.
"You’re up."
Anthony jumped at the voice. He turned his head to see Aeyn, and smirk on his face. "You might want to get dressed."
Anthony blushed as he realized he bore no clothes but a thin blanket around him. Aeyn stood up from where he sat on a chair beside the bed, and walked over to a closet, presumably to get Anthony something to wear. This gave time for him to survey his surroundings. The room consisted of a small chest near the door, and a closet leaning against the far wall, which was not so far from the small bed Anthony lay on.
The room was quite small, although not a small as where Anthony used to sleep as a stableboy. He accepted the clothes Aeyn gave him and slipped them on as he turned away. Standing up, Aeyn turned back around and nodded before offering him a comb. He accepted it and ran it through his hair as he asked Aeyn what had happened.
"I think we should discuss it with the others," was all he said.
Once Anthony was ready, they marched down the stairs and into the main room of a small inn. A few tables were scattered throughout the room, and a small counter led to a back door, which a woman was now exiting. She held a tray of food as she made her way over to where Sylin, Tristan, and Barind sat.
Anthony slid into a seat beside Aeyn as Sylin grinned at him. "Well if it isn't the boy who turned into a hawk and threw a banshee over a cliff."
Anthony gaped at him. Was what he was saying true? Tristan nodded at him, as if reading his thoughts. "It's true. We all saw it with out own two eyes. I don't know how you did it, but you did."
Anthony furrowed his brow. "What's a banshee?"
"It's an Avian twisted by long-forgotten dark magic and made into something more sinister." Sylin stabbed at his pie as he spoke.
Barind shook his head. "I thought those were just tales used to frighten young dwarves."
"Well, we now know that they're real. We also know that they can be defeated." Aeyn said through a mouthful of potato.
"Where are we, and how did we get here?"
"This is a small village just before the Druhami Desert, yet still ahead of the Dropstone Pass," answered Tristan.
Anthony sat back and shoveled pie into his mouth, contented to just eat in peace for the time being. Eventually, Sylin cleared his throat.
"Well, we best be going if we want to make it to Denvil."
"What am I, Barind, and Tristan going to do once we get there? We don't have any invitations," Anthony frowned.
Tristan scratched his chin. "I've been thinking about that. It would help if we knew what the prophecy was, and not just the cryptic advice Girrdan gave us."
After a few moments of silence, Sylin snapped his fingers. "I've got it! We never had Anthony read the scroll."
All heads turned his way as Aeyn fished the scroll out of his pack. "Here," he handed it to Anthony, who took it and read aloud,
“The night thief, in shadows deep, potion he must keep, and blood reach."
"The letter's awe, school come all, sand's maw, dragon's call, will save them all."
"Feather's reap, talons raze, darkness un-keep, darkness save."
"Earth's maze, ash's gaze, druid's kiss, by moonlight missed."
"Secrets under haze, snake delays, poison bite, friend's blight."
"The dark's keeper, falls deeper, become the night, all in fright."
"Death reap, fire save, don't leap, don't laze, enter haze, slayer slays, night's blaze."
Wide eyes stared at the former stableboy, who was just as shocked. What could this mean?
Tristan took a deep breath. "We'll have time to decipher this later. For now, we need to 'school come all'."
Barind grinned at the elf. "Aye. Who do you think it means by 'druid's kiss'?"
"Hush, dwarf," growled Tristan.
Moments later, they were riding toward the vast sands of the Druhami Desert, with Anthony having many more questions than answers.
Chapter Thirteen
Scales. Again
Aeyn stood over his fallen opponent as he sheathed his sword. He offered his hand to Anthony, who clasped his it as Aeyn pulled him to his feet. The stableboy sighed. "I lost. Again."
Tristan shrugged. "Practice makes perfect. And besides, you're fighting a dragon. I wouldn't feel so bad."
Aeyn rolled his eyes. "I haven't grown wings since Sylin gave me that potion. And honestly, I wouldn't call me a dragon. I don't even know what I am."
Tristan shook his head as he threw Anthony his spear. "Here. Go again."
The boy clasped his weapon in both hands as he circled around Aeyn, who drew his swords. They both took a few testing jabs in each-other's direction. Aeyn feinted to the left with one blade, while slapping Anthony on the leg with the other as he blocked the feint with his spear.
"One for Dragon!" Tristan called out.
Anthony grit his teeth and lunged at Aeyn, who sidestepped and swung both blades toward Anthony's leg. They were knocked aside by the point of his spear. Aeyn stepped back, but not fast enough as the butt of Anthony's weapon slammed into his leg and he fell to one knee.
"One for Falcon!"
Aeyn stood and swiped at his opponent from two different directions. They crossed over thin air as Anthony ducked and jabbed the butt of his spear at Aeyn's stomach.
"Oof," said Aeyn as Tristan yowled, "Two for Falcon!"
Aeyn scissored his blades across Anthony's spear as he drew back, resulting in a long stick with no point. The
boy growled and kicked sand into Aeyn's eyes. He staggered backward, dropping his swords and clutching at his eyes as a weight slammed into his temple.
"Falcon wins! As for Dragon- never drop your weapons."
Aeyn groaned as he looked up at the worried face peering down at him. "You alright?" asked Anthony.
Aeyn smiled, beads of sweat pouring down his face as the midday sun beat down on the Druhami Desert in full force. "Yep, good as can-" he cut himself off with a scream as pain crawled up his back.
Anthony's eyes widened as Aeyn's vision blurred. Voices came from a place far away. "Aeyn? Aeyn! Listen to me! What's wrong? What's happening?" The voices faded into nothingness as his vision swam, cleared, and then went black.
∆∆∆
Aeyn's head was pounding. His back felt as if it were on fire. His mouth was parched. The bright light of the sun burst through his eyelids, making his headache all that much worse. Unintelligible murmurs came from all around him. Then a gruff voice said, "He's awake,"
The scalding light receded, making Aeyn think someone was bending over him. "Aeyn?" Came the familiar voice of Anthony. "Open your eyes."
He did so, but immediately shut them again after finding that the sun was still bright and burning in its full intensity. Slowly this time, he coaxed his eyes open to frowning faces all around him. All except one.
"Bah!" said Barind. "I don't see why yer all so worried. Just cuz he grows some scales and passes out for a few days ain't mean he's gonna die."
"Obviously, he's not going to die, Barind," said Tristan's irritated voice. "Give him some space."
With that, all his friends took a few steps back, letting the sun assault his eyes in full-force. He winced at the brightness of it as he sat up. Strangely bare-chested, he furrowed his brow and looked around. He was sitting on a rough piece of fabric, with the desert stretching out as far as the eye could see. Patting the ground, he found the sand to be firm, as if someone had packed it down. The horses neighed and stamped the ground as they looked around, seemingly for some sort of greenery to eat.
Aeyn's stomach rumbled loudly as it realized how hungry it was. He rubbed his belly and looked around. "Anyone have something to eat?"
Anthony rolled his eyes as he handed him a piece of dried jerky. "Your mind is always on your stomach, even after you've been sleeping for five days."
The boy's last comment registered as Aeyn gnawed on his jerky. "Five days?" he exclaimed. "I've been out for five days, just because of a few jabs with a wooden pole?" He looked incredulously at Anthony, who sighed.
"I don't think it was from our training. Aeyn, you have... scales."
Aeyn stared at him. "Anthony, we already know this."
"No, you don't understand," Tristan interjected. "You have more than just a small patch on your back now. They cover your whole back, and your chest."
Aeyn's eyes widened in shock as he looked down at his chest. There, covering all his skin, were beautiful, shining, sapphire, scales.
∆∆∆
Aeyn sighed, again. They were moving at a frustratingly lethargic pace as the horse's hooves sunk into the soft sand. The poor animals were being pushed past their limits out in the open sun, with little to no food or drink. Their riders had an infinitesimal amount of water themselves, but they spared what they could for their mounts. The great ball of fire beating down on them did little to help their thirst.
"When can we stop?" Anthony moaned, his sweat-darkened tunic clinging to his body.
"As soon as the sun goes down, or we find a source of water," Tristan ground out.
Barind grunted. "Both seem unlikely to ever happen."
Anthony's eyes brightened and he gasped. "Oh really? Because I think one of them just came true."
Aeyn looked to where he was pointing, and his eyes widened at what he saw. There, less than a mile away, was a huge pool of water. "No. Not possible."
Anthony grinned. "Possible. Race you there!" he snapped the reigns, causing his horse to lurch into a gallop. The dust and sand of his mount's hooves flew into Aeyn's eyes and mouth, causing him to cough and blink rapidly.
He shook his head. "Alright, I see how this goes." He gave his horse a few gentle kicks in the side, before snapping the reigns and urging it into a full gallop.
The wind whistled through his ears as his mount sped on, seemingly energized by the oasis now just a few dozen feet in front of them. He was just about to pull on the reigns when his horse cried out and tumbled to the ground, with Aeyn following suit. Sand burst up his nostrils and into his mouth as his face greeted the ground. Groaning as his vision swam, he looked up at the masked figure standing before him. Smirking at the face which blended so well into the desert, he shrugged his shoulders. "Least I landed in soft sand," he muttered, before closing his eyes and letting his head loll to the side.
Chapter Fourteen
Sand, Snakes, and Did I Mention Sand?
Sylin woke to a throbbing pain in his head and a lot of hissing. He groaned and tried to sit up, but found he couldn't move an inch. Panicking, he tried to raise his head, growling in frustration as he realized he couldn't. Several strange words in an unfamiliar dialect and more hissing passed before he gained control of his body again. Sitting up, he found himself on a stone slab in a room with stone walls. Sand covered the floor, and masked figures were all around him. He found the others sitting next to him on similar stone slabs, all with confused expressions on their faces.
"What happened?" Asked Sylin. "And who are you?" He frowned at the masked forms encircling them.
A cloaked and hooded figure approached from the ranks of masked people. It threw back its hood, and Sylin gasped to see a snake-like face peering back at him. A forked tongue flicked out of its mouth as it twisted into what must've been a smile. "It issss not polite to sssssstare," it said in a serpentine voice.
Sylin swallowed as he looked up at the snake. "You must be a Cobrali."
"Ah, ssssso you know what I am?" It walked – if that's even what it did – around the masked forms, stretching a scaled hand out toward each one in turn. "I sssssupose you know what a Desssssert Raider issssss assss well?"
Sylin narrowed his eyes as his hand slowly crept toward the dagger still hidden on his lower back. "I've heard of them."
The snake turned back toward him as its tail slithered out from behind its cloak. Its gaze turned toward Sylin's hand grasping the hilt of his dagger. "I hope you're not planning to ussssse that on me?" The knife shot out of its sheath seemingly on its own and landed in the hand of the snake. Shaking its head, it looked at Sylin as if he were a naughty child. "No, no, no. That jusssst won't do! Perhaps we can teach you some manners?"
The form stalked toward him and stared into his eyes. After a few awkward moments of silence, Sylin raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are snake manners equal to a 'how to win in a staring contest' scroll? Because reading that would be much easier than having to go through your apparently terrible teaching skills."
The snake narrowed its eyes at him and muttered under its breath. "Magic resistance. Interesting."
The Cobrali hissed at him – it did that a lot – and then walked back over to the Desert Raiders. "Take this one-" it pointed to Sylin, "And the scaly one-" it gestured to Aeyn, "To the inquisition chamber. Bring the others to the Sand Prison."
Two of the raiders grabbed Sylin by the shoulders and dragged him across the room. "Hey!" He protested. "I'll come by my own two feet."
The snake nodded to the raiders, and they let go of Sylin. One of them bound his wrists behind his back, while the other one started prodding him with a spear. He was marched through the door and into a hallway made partially of sand and partially of stone. He staggered through corridor after corridor, until they came to a stop at a large stone door. The door was painted black, and above it in red were the words 'Inquisition Chamber'.
Gulping as he looked at the red lettering, the door swung inward seemingly on its own and he was pushed into the room. I wonder if that
was even paint. His shadowy thoughts were interrupted by the chamber's own dark places. Racks lined the walls, various increments of torture mounted among them. A large closet stood off to the side, and stone slabs were mounted vertically along the far wall.
Sylin turned as Aeyn and his own guards walked into the room. He was struggling and kicking at the four raiders who held him. "Let me go! Let me go!"
The guards slammed him against one of the slabs as the robed Cobrali entered the room. He muttered an incantation and waved his hand, causing Aeyn to lay limp against the stone slab. Before Sylin's own guards could shove him against his own slab, he thrust his palm outward.
Both raiders flew backward, thumping against the wall and laying still. The snake hissed something in its strange language, and Sylin was pulled forward until he was just in front of the Cobrali. A dagger was at his throat in an instant. "Interessssting." the snake pressed the dagger harder against Sylin's throat. "It ssseemsss you have magical ability assss well asss resssissstance." Swiping back Sylin's hair, a snakelike grin spread across his face. "And a halfbreed too? Thisss will be fun."
With that, the thief was blasted against a stone slab. All movement in his body froze, until he could barely blink. His eyes bore holes into the Cobrali's cackling face as it swiped its hand across the various instruments on the wall. "Hmmmm. What sssshall we try first?" It stopped its pacing for a moment, looking between Aeyn and Sylin for a moment before snapping its fingers. "Ah-ha! I know jussst the thing."
As it strode toward Aeyn with a grim look on its face, Sylin worked on his magical bonds. When he focused on his magic, he could see weaves of darkness attached to every fiber of his being, so he couldn't move an inch. He called forth his own magic to unweave the snake's sorcery. A loud scream burst through his concentration, shattering all his magic with a jolt. With great effort, he turned his head enough to see the Cobrali standing in front of Aeyn, magical streams of darkness sprouting out of his fingers and into Aeyn's body.
