Chapter IV

Chapter IV

The forest around him didn’t look any familiar. Mernion was standing in the middle of a little clearing, surrounded by thick oak trees. He looked around him and noticed that the trees were so close to each other, that they were blocking his way. “Impossible” he thought and started walking around the living wooden wall, searching for a passage.

When he figured out there is no way, he tried climbing up. As he climbed up about ten meters, he looked up. The tree seemed to never end. Suddenly he heard a familiar, insane laugh. A moment later a man in brown robes appeared above him, kicking him and causing him to fall.

It wasn’t a long fall. In fact, Mernion was barely a meter above the ground.

- There is just one way out from this prison - said the man - Kill Shabal.

- I will not do that!

- We will see about it! - he laughed maniacally.

A dark cloud appeared around the man, making him barely visible to young barbarian. After a moment, the cloud disappeared and in place where earlier was a short man, was standing Shabal.

- You… are one lucky boy - he said. Suddenly the surrounding reminded Mernion of the road close to his home village. The words he heard were exactly the words that barbarian leader said to him first they met - What are you doing here?

- I..I… - suddenly his breath turned heavy and he was unable to speak.

- You must be from the village - he stopped for a moment, looked to the side, then back at other barbarian - And you should die just like your parents!

Dark armored warrior took out his sword, which started instantly burning. Mernion took his weapon out, taking defensive pose.

- Shabal! What are you doing?!

- Finishing my job! - he swinged his blade, clashing with younger barbarian’s sword.

- But… You saved me! This is not how it was!

- You have false memories. Time to face the truth - he jumped back and quickly swinged sword, hurting confused Mernion in arm. Fire from the sword spilled out on his hide, making it burn.

Young barbarian jumped back evasively, then threw the hide on the ground. All of sudden the trees became even closer and all he could see was his leader, charging at him with a rage in his eyes.

At that moment he knew that the only way to survive is to listen to the hooded man and kill his leader. He prepared for next hit, which he easily blocked, then pushed Shabal forward, making him lose his guard. He didn’t wait long and tried stabbing him in his chest.

Older barbarian easily evaded the attack, jumping to the side, then he swung his fiery blade at his enemy. Swords clashed again, but this time Mernion was prepared for action. He punched Shabal in the face, then moved his sword down to his leader’s hand, causing him to drop his weapon. Before Shabal managed to pick up the weapon, his heart got pierced by a tip of a sword.

Barbarian felt on Mernion’s arms.

- Well fought… - he was looking at young barbarians face while his eyes were slowly closing - What a shame…

Mernion gently put the body on the ground. He looked around, the trees seemed to move a bit, creating an opening in front of him. He walked through the forest that soon turned into the dark fog.

Finally he got out of the fog, ending in a dark room. Only source of light was a candle that was standing on the table next to a bed. Mernion walked slowly with a blade in his hand. When he got closer, he noticed Shabal sleeping in the bed. He raised his sword, wanting to strike the old barbarian. Suddenly he got hit by an arrow, that pierced through his shoulder and pinned him to the closest wall. He screamed in pain, which woke up older barbarian.

- What in the name of Ifar is going on? - asked annoyed Shabal, then took a moment to analyse the room. He noticed a sword on the ground, and an arrow that belonged to Avenlight - Were you trying to kill me?!

- I know the truth, Shabal! You wanted to kill me! This is all an illusion! You are a liar! A liar!! - Mernion screamed maniacally.

Confused and sleepy Shabal didn’t think long and decided to hit his companion in face, making him unconscious. Rest of the night, Mernion spent unaware of what was happening. He remembered voices of elves and Shabal, and few of the words they said.

“We should move out now, we can’t risk waiting any longer”

“It’s just first time, every next will be only worse”

“He needs to learn how to resist it”

“Don’t worry, he will be fine”

* * *

Silandri left her tiny stone house, located in outer part of the town. Normally she would first eat a breakfast, then go to her leader to receive a task. A memory of that past was making her sad.

Evening before, Shabal asked her to join the rest on the breakfast. He wanted to keep feasts the traditional way and now she was a part of his band.

As she got a plate with a little old, dry bread and a piece of nicely roasted meat, she looked around the improvised dining room, looking for one of the familiar faces. She only found Shabal, sitting alone in the corner.

- It’s a nice idea with that tradition - she started as she was getting closer to his table - But you shouldn’t eat alone in the dark corner.

- I’m not exactly in mood to be among people.

- They need you. Yesterday they fought well and they need to see a hope for good future.

- They spent last few years hiding in a forest. They are tough enough without me...

- But they didn’t have to fight like this before, did they? - she stopped for a moment - And look, this victory gave you a city that can be turned into the most safe place on the land. You should be happy!

- Be happy? We are fighting a bloody demon! - he screamed. A thought of fighting unknown enemy was still bothering barbarian leader.

Elven girl didn’t answer anything, just sat down in silence and started eating.

- Where is Mernion? - she asked after a while.

- Him and the elves had to move out earlier than planned.

- Oh? How so? - she didn’t care much about having mouth full of food.

- During the night we had an accident…

- Accident, is he alright?

- Yes, although his shoulder might hurt a bit. Avenlight is truly blessed with aim. He shot him from hundred meters, through a small window! Otherwise… I would be dead now.

- Dead? Did that demon follower got in control of him?

- Probably. He seemed to believe that I lied to him in the past. He was angry and blinded by the rage.

- Damn it. I hope the… Forest Guardian… will turn out helpful.

- I hope so too.

Silandri finished her breakfast in silence. Her thoughts were with Mernion. She was worried about Forest Guardian and other elves, as she didn’t trust them, but she also hoped they will be able to help with barbarian’s problem.

After eating last bit of meat, she decided to prepare for initiation of Shabal.

- So, about the initiation… - she started.

- Oh yes, what should I do?

- Well, normally you would go with the leader of house you join into monster’s temple and destroy the heart. I will play a role of the leader in this case.

- That sounds… tough. I think it might be good idea to take more people with us?

- No. We gonna stick to the tradition. Well, at least for you… No need to have everyone risk their lives…

- That is… encouraging - he smiled ironically - so what do we do now?

- Near the entrance gate, there is a giant house with a balcony. You will find it easily. Meet me there in an hour.

She stood up and turned around, just when the door to the room got opened and a giant figure appeared. It was Panwarel. He was all in bandages and barely walking. He went in slowly and few of people instantly ran up to him. They asked if he needs a help but he refused and just smiled. The crowd started cheering for hero of the yesterday’s battle.

- Look - Silandri pointed him to Shabal - This is a hope they need to see.

* * *

Mernion got woke up by a strong headache. He was in a dark tent, lying on improvised bed made out of leaves. He could hear a calm water outside. He slowly stood up and proceeded towards the exit.

Outside he met elves, sitting next to campfire where they were cooking a meat. Four of brown horses were tied to the nearby trees. Exoriss noticed the barbarian.

- Oh you woke up finally - he said - How are you feeling?

- My head hurts… What happened, where are we?

- If you turn around you will see a beautiful Mountain Cold Lake. You really don’t remember what you did last night?

- I… I remember Shabal and… We were fighting…

- Our enemy messed in your head while you were sleeping. We had to move out before something bad would happen.

- Something bad, did I… Was the fight real?

- There was no fight. Avenlight stopped you from assassination though.

- Assassination? Oh no… - he sat down on the ground - It’s impossible, I would never…

- It is not your fault - said Exoriss with calming voice - Mind magic is strong and hard to resist. You will need to fight against it yourself.

- But how can I do that?

- Sadly, I can only tell you what books say about it. Practice is important though and I’m not a specialist in that kind of magic.

- Forest Guardian might be able to help us - suggested Sythaeryn - after all they are specialists of mind control.

- Mhh, their magic is something different than mind control… But perhaps, I hope so…

- Food is ready - said Avenlight - Let’s eat while it’s warm.

Other two elves stared at him for a while. It wasn’t often that gold-haired elf said anything, let alone anything so trivial as being worried about warmth of food.

- What? - he asked.

- No… Nothing.

After the meal, travelers prepared to move out. Mernion got up on his horse. Barbarians didn’t have many of them, so he didn’t have a lot of chances to ride it before. Luckily his stallion was a calm animal and it didn’t take many falls before they left the camp.

They were riding next to a coast of the Mountain Cold Lake. Water was crystalically blue, making Mernion want to jump in for a quick bath. Ever since elves arrived, he was on constant move and dirt from fights and wandering got deep into his skin.

“This water is too cold anyway” he thought as he resigned from idea of stopping others for a quick break.

* * *

Shabal was waiting in front of the big house. As opposite to most of the buildings that were surrounding the area, this one had three floors, with a balcony coming out from second one. A red banners with symbol of an anvil were decorating the walls.

Doors opened and elven girl came out. On top of her usual clothes, she had a steel frontal breastplate on her chest. Legs were covered by tasset belt. Her shoulder strap was in normal position, while sun mark got covered by a single iron pauldron.

- I didn’t expect they had armors here - said Shabal.

- Just because they used only magic to fight?

- Well… Yes.

- Mages of the surface could learn a lot from them - chuckled Silandri, then turned around to the house - This was my leader’s house. I always wanted to live here…

- Now you can. I think he would be happy about it.

- Now it’s not the same…

She looked at the building and a lot of good memories went through her head.

- Anyway - she started - Week before the attack, we spotted a temple that raised not so far from the city.

- “Raised”?

- Yes uh… Temples move up from depths of the underground. As the new leader of Kaghduhn you should know that. Our role is to stop them from coming out to the surface.

- Are you telling me that gnomes were fighting off temples for the years, so we, people of the surface, don’t have to deal with them?

- Yes.

- Why though? Why didn’t they just let us deal with our problems?

- That was their purpose. That’s why they were born as gnomes, not humans or elves. Beside there is a legend…

She pointed to the gate and they started moving out.

- The surface and the underground are the opposite. Once the surface becomes the underground, the heroes will become the slaves, and the villains will sow their terror everywhere. A sheep will try to become a wolf in order to survive.

- That’s… Interesting - he thought for a while - I still don’t understand their “purpose”. Guards defend their king in order to have a good life, gold and women. Why would gnomes defend us?

- Do you know why you are a human? Not an elf, or let’s say a deer.

- Uhh… I guess it’s randomness… According to priests it’s decided by Ifar.

- According to gnomes mythology it’s older than Ifar. When first soul came to the world, it looked over other souls that were slowly forming. It wasn’t sure what other souls might be like, so it made them weaker, locked in bodies of first humans.

They got to a bottom of a slope, where they had to jump down into more open and dark space. Silandri spawned a ball of light.

- It resulted in a big chaos. Some of souls were just full of anger and aimed for pointless destruction. Primal soul decided to lock them deep underground, in their temples. That’s what the hearts are.

- So they are just like us…

- If you look at it like that, yes. Time has passed and hearts managed to create their minions, then slowly moved their temples to the surface. Here starts the story of gnomes, race made out of most devoted souls, who want to defend the world.

- Couldn’t the… primal soul, just destroy them?

- No, it’s impossible to destroy a soul. Once the heart is killed, it would appear again, somewhere underground. It will take years before it comes up again, but this fight will never end. That’s the solution that is working for centuries.

- Hmm… What about other souls, elves, animals… demons?

- Animals are just simpler souls. Humans and elves are both same complicated, but they differ in origin. Elves were a more peaceful race, one who wanted to protect the trees rather than use them for building houses.

- And demons? Maybe there is something that can help us defend it.

- Demons… They are not in this legend. You probably know a legend of the Shapeshifter?

- Yes, lately it’s my favourite one - he laughed.

- Well, gnomes version is a bit different… But look, we are getting close!

Far in front of them, there was a big building of unusual construction. The floors were going in odd shapes, sometimes getting way too far from other levels. Top of the temple was getting through the ceiling of cave, going somewhere into the gray stones of mountain. It was obvious that a big magic was involved in process of building this construction.

On the bottom of the building there was a giant entrance. In front of it, a two tall figures were guarding.

- We need to stay hidden until we are close to the heart - informed Silandri, destroying her light source.

- Why? We can easily take them down without others noticing it.

- No. The heart will feel it. They are connected with it. We kill two here and rest of them knows about us.

Elven girl looked over the building. On the second floor, there was a small opening in a wall. She pointed that place with her hand and started walking around the tall creatures, hiding behind stones and pieces of ruins.

For young and agile elf, climbing up the wall wasn’t really an issue. Within two seconds, she was standing on a shelf that was next to the opening. For Shabal it was much more of a challenge. Barbarian wasn’t used to climbing up and few times he almost slipped down. In the end, with help of Silandri, he managed to get to the opening.

They squeezed through the thick wall, ending in a tall and wide corridor.

- Hmm, no enemies around… - said elf - Better watch your steps, there might be some traps here.

They slowly walked forward, watching the surroundings. The floor was shaking a bit and Silandri pointed down with her hand, informing Shabal. Suddenly one of the tiles fell down under leg of barbarian. He fell down, grabbing on the next tile. Silandri quickly helped him to get back up, but the tiles started to falling down under them. They had to run and jump on next pieces, until they got to the other end of corridor, where the floor was solid.

Elven girl looked down in the darkness below them.

- Good news, we are probably close.

- That’s… - Shabal was breathing heavily - Not really making it better.

Suddenly they heard a sound of cutting through air, as if something big was moving in the darkness below them.

- Look! - Silandri pointed into the hole behind them - It’s one of its ugh… tentacles.

- Ten..tacles? - barbarian looked down, seeing a giant mass moving in the darkness. He took a step back and looked at elf with confused eyes.

- This space down there is the container. It’s where it raises its body… Uh well, tentacles - she chuckled - As I said we are close, somewhere on the floor above container is the heart where magic is being gathered.

- You sound so relaxed about it.

- It’s not the first time I destroy a heart… It’s the first time when I’m the most experienced person though.

She moved through the door to the next room. It was a square with another corridors joining from each of sides. On the floor, there were some pieces of shadow mass, leading to the left doorway.

- Is that… - started Shabal.

- Whatever it is, it got left by the monsters. Which means they use this path.

- Let’s check it out then.

They followed a track of shadow mass, leading them through a narrow, but tall corridor. After a while they reached place with a wide entrance behind a corner and stairs ahead of them. Silandri quickly looked around the corner. In the giant room there were four of tall shadow creatures, guarding the giant mass of flesh, with a heart on top of it, shielded by a shell that looked like it was made out of stone.

She looked around the room. They couldn’t just run inside, as the four monsters would give them too much trouble and soon they would get swarmed by rest of them. She noticed there is a big column next to the heart and a balcony on higher level, with entrance that was probably reachable from the stairs ahead of them.

- It’s here - she whispered to Shabal - But it’s heavily guarded. I think if we go this way, we might be able to strike it before they notice us.

- Can’t we just run inside?

- Don’t be stupid, barbarian. We don’t even know what these monsters can do.

- Hmpf… Let’s have it your way then - he said grumpily.

They quickly ran to the other side and followed the stairs, then turned left. They got to balcony entrance, when suddenly one of the monsters appeared right in front of them.

- Crap - said Silandri and lighted up her hands, while Shabal drew his burning sword and shield. A tall shadow started to swing his long arms, hitting the floor in front of them. Elven girl casted a missile that exploded and got enemy out of balance. Barbarian used that moment to bash it with the shield, making it fall on the ground. Then he jumped up on it and stabbed its head with his sword. Fire quickly took over the body and monster died.

Entire building started to shake. Tentacles from the container started to move up to the unwanted visitors.

- I will destroy the heart, you keep them away from this balcony - screamed Silandri and jumped to the column, then started to walk around it, getting closer to her target. It wasn’t easy, as the column was very smooth. She helped herself with a bit of magic, making the holes as she moved on.

Shabal stood in the corridor, where another two of monsters arrived from different sides. As one of them swung his arm at him, he hit it with a shield, then managed to cut it off with a sword. Other monster swung arms and successfully hit him in the back, making him fell on the ground. Barbarian rolled to the side to avoid another attack.

When he was on the ground, he started to hear as something is getting closer from below. He quickly jumped up, avoiding the hit of giant tentacle, that went through the floor. Impact made a hole, that was big enough for Shabal to push enemies inside it. He avoided another attack, then hit one of monsters with his shield. It fell to the ground and barbarian kicked it right into the endless darkness of the container. Other of enemies tried to attack him from behind, but he managed to kneel, shield himself and move the enemy above him, making it join its companion. Barbarian turned around and decided to stab the tentacle that was wiggling in front of him. It didn’t really give any results, but he felt better with it.

- Gross - he summed up. Suddenly he heard a sound of breaking walls behind him. He turned around and saw another tentacle going straight at him. He jumped back into the balcony to avoid the attack.

Meanwhile Silandri was right above the heart. She opened her pocket and took out a small stone with runes on it. She closed her eyes and activated the runes, making them shine with bright blue light. Then she jumped down. Strengthening her other hand with magic, she broke through the shell, then threw the stone inside the heart.

Soon after that, monsters started to scream in pain and slowly turned into dust. Giant tentacles stopped to move and flesh that surrounded the heart started to reduce and darken out.

Because other way was blocked by a dead tentacle, Shabal jumped down from balcony and joined his elven companion. He looked through the hole in shell. Heart inside it was dead and destroyed, as if hundred of years had passed.

- That’s quick - he said.

- I forgot to show you - she pulled another stone from her pocket - Rune made by gnomes. You see, heart consumes any magic that gets close to it. Magic in these runes is well, deadly to it.

- As deadly as my sword, I guess - laughed barbarian.

- More deadly. It kills it instantly, while your sword would made it bleed and rage. This is the correct way of killing it, trust me - she gave the stone to him - You will need this in future, leader of Kaghduhn.

Shabal smiled and bowed slightly. Then they walked out of the room, finding the way out.

- By the way, I picked this place for a reason - said Silandri - It’s close to old iron mine. Good resources to make weapons and well… I think your barbarians could use some cover.

- Uh, armors? They are good without it.

- Another one… What’s wrong with you barbarians… And you even have armor yourself…

She continued and eventually managed to make Shabal promise that he will send a message to his blacksmith Studr to join them in Kaghduhn.

Many of the barbarians awaited their leader to come back from the initiation. When him and elven girl arrived in the city, they were welcomed by cheers and salutes. Shabal didn’t understand it at start.

- Is that your doing? - he asked Silandri.

- Perhaps. They need to see you as a hero they would want to follow - she smiled - Now it’s time to tell a tale of how you destroyed the heart with bare hands.

- You had it planned. Since when?

- Since you said you killed a stone salamander - she laughed - You barbarians…

She bowed softly, then turned around and walked away. Shabal joined his companions, telling them about the latest events. He didn’t go as far as Silandri suggested to him. He might have exaggerated amount of monsters he killed though.