by Jamie Davis
“Mona, we need to be careful. There’re signs of grendlings nearby.”
“How do you know?”
“I saw a rock cairn on the trail back there. I didn’t point it out to you at the time, thinking it was an old marker. I was wrong. There’s another one over there just behind that tree. See?”
Hal pointed to a pile of smooth river stone topped by a human skull.
“It could be just a burial site.”
“This one has no moss growing on it like the other one did. This one was made recently, marking a kill in battle. They boiled the skin off the skull of their most recent kill and left it here as a warning of their battle prowess. I saw some others like it in my travels in the northland when I was training as a mage. It’s definitely a fresh sign of grendlings nearby. We’ll have to keep our guard up.”
Mono looked around and shrugged. “You know best about these types of things. I’ve never encountered these particular beasts before. Aren’t they goblin kin? Can’t we parlay with them for safe passage like you’ve done with the goblins in the Valley of the Sun?”
“I’ve only encountered them a few times. They are like goblins in many ways except that I’ve never been able to get along with them quite as well as I do their southern cousins. Let’s keep our eyes open and be ready for trouble.”
Hal scanned the forest around them as the two of them continued riding. It was getting near dark and they’d have to camp soon.
Mona must’ve had a similar idea and motioned to a line of trees just in front of a large outcropping of rock jutting up from the ground.
“Let’s go camp over there. We might be able to find some shelter in the rocks. It’ll help hide our campfire from any enemies nearby.”
“Good idea,” Hal said. “It’ll also give us a potential defensible position in case any grendlings show up.”
The two of them headed into the copse of trees. The rock outcropping was huge, towering nearly thirty feet into the air. It was a hundred feet or more across at the base. After a little search around the base, they found a small cave under a rock overhang. It would be a perfect place to camp. There was even room to bring the horses inside with them after some coaxing.
While Mona got the camp situated and picketed the horses inside the cave, Hal went out and cut some of the long grass growing just beyond the tree line to bring into the cave. It would supplement the small sack of grain they had to feed the horses.
Hal returned and dumped the double armload of grass on the cave floor in front of the horses, kicking it to spread it out before them. He turned back to where Mona was already preparing their meal.
“This is perfect,” he said, scanning the cave. We can probably use it as a base of operations while we scout the area. According to the map, we’ve got to be very close to this old wizard’s tower.”
“Let’s eat first,” Mona said. “After dinner, we can do a little scouting before returning to settle in for the night.”
Hal crouched by the fire to help her finish the meal, handing her supplies they had in their packs. Thanks to Mona’s quick work with her crossbow, they’d bagged several rabbits earlier in the day. Now Hal skinned them and cut portions of the meat up to add to their small camp pot over the fire.
The rabbit stew they had for dinner satisfied Hal’s growling stomach. He and Mona made a good team in the kitchen whether at home or here in the wild. If it weren’t for the seriousness of their quest, he’d almost enjoy their little camp excursion. It had been a long time since it had been just the two of them without any other people, electronics or technology to distract them.
The two of them cleaned up from their supper and then Hal and Mona set out into the moonlit countryside to see what else was around them. Hal engaged his dark vision skill. It enabled him to see quite well at night, especially with the full moon above them.
Mona put on a set of goggles she’d crafted long ago when Cari was young and liked to run away to hide in the palace garden at bedtime. The dark, smoky lenses of the goggles with their leather eye-cups and straps looked like they would prevent her from seeing anything, even in the daytime. The effect for her, though, was similar to powered night vision goggles back on Earth. With them on, she had no trouble seeing in the dark either. It gave the two of them an advantage over just about anyone they would encounter while scouting around.
They hadn’t gone far from their camp in the cave before they heard the sounds of the drums in the distance. Hal nodded. “I’ve heard drums like that before. They sound a lot like the drums of the grendlings from farther north. I was hoping I was wrong.”
“It seems to be coming from straight ahead of us,” Mona whispered. “Let’s be careful. It would be very easy for a large group to overwhelm our defenses if we stumble upon them in the dark.”
“Agreed. I’ll take the lead. You watch our backs.”
The two of them crept forward and continued towards the sound of the drums. They traveled for about a half mile before reaching a break in the trees. There was a large, open meadow just past the tree line. There, in front of them was a tall, thin tower. The top of it ended in a jagged crack. The top of the tower had tumbled to the ground as evidenced by the pile of stones lying next to the tower’s base. This had to be the wizard tower Colin mentioned.
It was clear it hadn’t been occupied for some time, though the camp area around it showed signs the grendlings visited this place often. The camp was currently occupied.
Mona tapped Hal’s shoulder and pointed off to the right. Some of the tower’s stones had been used to erect a sort of altar off to one side of the base. There was a large, crude stone carving in the tower’s wall of what looked like a sort of demon. Set in the middle of the demon’s chest was a glowing green gem.
“I’ll bet you that gem is the one we’re looking for,” Hal whispered.
Mona nodded. “You’re up hon. This is obviously the job for a master thief. I’ll follow you along the edge of the trees until we’re as close as possible to the tower, then I’ll find a spot where I can cover you. All you have to do is sneak out and pull that gem from the carved idol next to the grendling camp.”
Hal smiled and rubbed his palms together. He missed his days as a thief back in Tandon. It was so long ago, he almost looked forward to the danger involved in sneaking out there and stealing the stone. Hal pulled up the hood of his black cloak, pulling the rest of it around him. He moved up to the edge of the tree line.
Mona pulled out her crossbow, checking to make sure the cartridge of bolts was loaded in the clockwork mechanism. She tested the crank in the stock to make sure it was fully wound then nodded. Hal smiled. It was time for him to go to work.
“I’ll be right back.” After giving Mona a quick kiss on the cheek, Hal slipped over to the next tree from where Mona was hiding, then crouched and moved out into the open. The grendlings in the nearby camp were all clustered around a large campfire built close to the tower’s other side. They weren’t paying much attention to the altar they’d created right now. The tribe seemed occupied by the antics of a leader in very colorful robes dancing about in front of the bonfire.
It took Hal a few minutes to get to the altar, sticking to the shadows and moving slowly. The grendlings still sat in a circle, chanting around the fire. He couldn’t understand their words, but the rhythmic cadence had the sound of a ritual of some sort. They were still all focused on their leader dancing around the bonfire.
So far, so good.
Hal pulled one of his daggers free from his belt and climbed up onto the rough stone altar. The top of it was about six feet from the ground and above that stood the demon carving in the tower wall. The glowing green gemstone was set firmly in the center of the demon’s chest about five feet above the top of the altar.
From where Hal could climb near the top of the altar he was going to have to stretch around in an awkward position to reach the gemstone. That would be when he was most exposed.
He managed to get up to the side of
the demon carving and crouch there beside the tower wall while he got ready to make his move and grab the gemstone. Just as he was about to move, though, a shout came from the grendling encampment. Hal was sure he’d been spotted.
The shouting continued but none of the tribe moved. It was the leader shouting as part of the ritual. They all remained seated in one big, chanting group. The guttural ritual increased in volume in response to the shouts of the leader, as did the intensity of the drums. They’d reached a new portion of their ceremony and Hal decided to hurry.
The grendlings’ chanting was reaching a fever pitch and he thought it might end at any moment. If this was a religious thing, they might all turn and approach the altar at the end. If that was the case, he didn’t want to be there when they did.
Standing up and edging around to the front of the altar, Hal reached up and tried to pull the gemstone free with his fingers.
It wouldn’t budge.
Reaching up with his other hand, he held the gemstone between his forefinger and thumb. Using one of his daggers, Hal dug at the setting in the stone wall with the tip. It took a little work and an uncomfortably long time, but he managed to pry the green gemstone free. It was round and flat, about the size of his thumbnail across its widest point. The gem’s many facets caught his eyes in the firelight behind him as he pulled it free. It was gorgeous.
Hal glanced back at Mona crouched in the trees and grinned as he slipped the gem into his belt pouch.
Quest completed — recover the wizard’s gem
20,000 experience awarded
A new shout came from the grendlings behind him and Hal froze, trying to blend into the shadows.
The shouts continued and were joined by many other angry voices, now growing closer. Hal didn’t have to look behind him. He knew what that meant.
Hal moved to the edge of the altar and glanced over his shoulder to see a mob of grendlings running towards the altar, weapons drawn.
They’d spotted him.
Hal reached down and drew his other dagger, then pushed off from the top of the altar, six feet above the ground. He executed a perfect twisting backflip landing just in front of the leading grendlings.
The move caught them by complete surprise.
Hal stabbed out with both hands one to either side of him catching two of the charging creatures in the chest and dropping them to the ground.
3,000 experience awarded
3,000 experience awarded
Hal stood, drawing the blades out of the bodies, both still twitching on the ground. He stepped to one side, avoiding the sweep of a broad-bladed axe and stabbed one dagger into the neck of the axe-wielding grendling.
3,000 experience awarded
He spun around to face more of the creatures charging at him. Six of them closest to him fell in rapid succession as Mona fired off a full magazine of her repeating crossbow bolts into the group.
Hal smiled. She was so deadly with that thing.
Half of the grendlings in the camp were down, but there were still eight of them left. That included one who looked like he was the chief priest or a witch doctor or whatever these things called their religious leaders.
The priest had stopped and stood waving his arms above his head while he chanted something. Hal knew he was drawing upon his magic.
He needed to deal with the spell caster first despite the onrushing of angry grendlings closest to him.
Hal cast his ice armor spell. Instantly, translucent plates of ice arranged in an intricate pattern of overlapping sections, covered every inch of his body. The magically reinforced ice was harder than steel and would protect him from most conventional attacks, at least in the short term.
He charged through the remaining seven grendlings straight at the witch doctor standing behind them readying his spell. Blows from various axes and swords rained down on him as he ran past. Only a few managed to connect and cause any damage.
Health damage — health -10
Health damage — health -4
Health damage — health -7
Hal finally managed to break through the initial rush, shrugging off the pain of the hits he took. Once he was on the other side, he raised one hand, the fingers all splayed outward. A large pole of ice about 4 feet long with a jagged, sharpened tip launched from his palm straight at the grendling witch doctor.
The grendling’s eyes widened in surprise and he had to stop casting his spell as he dove to one side to avoid the incoming ice lance. Hal cursed as his spell missed its mark.
Behind him, the other grendlings had already turned around and raced back at him from behind. In front of him, the witch doctor got back to his feet and charged from the opposite direction with his staff raised to strike down at Hal.
He’d been in worse scrapes than this, but he knew he was going to get hurt, possibly severely, if he stayed where he was. He needed to break away from them and try to run for the trees.
Just as he was about to dodge to one side to avoid the dual attacks from the witch doctor and the group behind him, a small silver ball flew from the nearby trees to land in the middle of the seven grendlings charging at Hal’s back.
As soon as the metal ball, about the size of a baseball landed, a fine metal mesh expanded out from it to cover the ground beneath the grendlings’ feet. The mesh tripped four of them, making them fall. As soon as the four hit the ground, the mesh sparked and flashed like lightning as the metal ball electrified the wire netting around it.
Instantly, the four grendlings caught in the mesh were fried by thousands of volts of captured electrical energy from within the steel ball. Hal laughed aloud despite the danger he was still in.
He missed adventuring with Mona. They’d taken a few quests together back in their earlier days here in Fantasma when Cari was little. She would stay at the palace with a nanny while Hal and Mona went out on their adventures.
Hal turned and fired off a stream of ice darts at the three remaining grendlings on his right. Two of them dropped to the ground pierced by a pair 6-inch ice darts each.
3,000 experience awarded
3,000 experience awarded
Mona called out a warning and Hal turned in time to raise his arm and cast a shield spell. The round disc of ice appeared on his forearm, catching the descending blow of the witch doctor’s staff. The impact jarred Hal’s arm despite the shield. It shook him all the way up to his shoulder. This guy was stronger than he looked.
As the witch doctor hammered away at Hal’s ice shield, he tried to slip in an attack with his dagger.
As he waited for an opening in the grendling priest’s defenses, two crossbow bolts slammed into the grendling’s back in rapid succession. The priest gasped once and fell over backward, dead. Mona stepped out of the tree line, holding her crossbow pointed forward, the stock resting on her hip. She scanned the camp and surrounding area for any other threats.
“Thanks, hon. I could’ve handled him, though.”
“Of course you could. You don’t mind having a little help, though, do you?”
Hal shook his head and the two shared a brief smile. “We ought to get out of here. I didn’t see any women in this group. That leads me to believe there might be a larger camp nearby.”
“If that’s the case, someone could show up at any moment. Let’s get back to our cave. Once there, we can decide about what we want to do next. Hand me the gem.”
Hal handed Mona the green gemstone. It still glowed with its own inner, emerald light. He had thought it was just reflecting the firelight before. That wasn’t the case. It had a power of its own deep inside. It was definitely magical in nature.
The two of them returned to the tree line and headed south towards their camp. They hadn’t gone far when they heard shouts in the woods behind them. The guttural voices signaled more grendlings arriving at the wizard’s collapsed tower. Hal and Mona picked up speed.
They reached their cave hideout without incident. Mona took out the emerald. “Let me see if I can figur
e out how this will fit inside my transporter design. If I can get it working tonight, we won’t have to trek all the way south.”
“It’ll also help us avoid the grendlings. They are surely going to be out hunting for us now.”
“Do you think they’ll find us?”
“I’d almost count on it. The grendling have lived in the wilds all their lives. They’ll be more than adequate at tracking us. We couldn’t do much to hide our trail moving as fast as we were in the dark.”
“Alright, I’ll try to work fast. You watch the entrance for any sign they found us.”
Mona sat down and retrieved her transporter prototype device from her pack. She set it on the ground in front of her next to the small campfire they had in the back of the cave where a natural chimney drew the smoke upward.
In the dim firelight, she popped open the access hatch in the side of the cylindrical device and pulled a set of fine needle nose pliers from her utility belt. Holding the gem with the pliers in one hand and leaning over the transporter with a screwdriver in her other hand, Mona began her work integrating the gem into the device’s inner works.
Hal returned his attention to watching outside. When the grendlings found their trail, it wouldn’t take them long to get to the cave. He sat down and tried to get as much rest as he could while still keeping watch. He was going to need the energy to cast more spells if the time came to defend the cave against an assault.
Chapter 29
The sun rose in the east, just cresting the trees, and Hal caught himself nodding off while he sat keeping guard at the entrance to the cave. It had been many hours since they’d returned. A soft curse from behind him told him Mona was still hard at work on her transporter design.
