Upon a Star: Karyana's Journey: Chapter 11

A Chapter by Sebastien B.

While Kaina begins her search for her sister, Laurinya begins hers for the Shardfall's crystals.

Chapter 10

Demyan looked through an old grimoire, sitting in the sunlight as the morning wind brushed against his face.

His study, atop the tower where the former Magelord studied, was filled to the brim with books of lore, items of magical curio and artifacts of lost times. Even the door to the study was not a door, but a library that slid into the wall thanks to a system of pulleys and weights.

As the young man rested his eyes from an hour of study without so much as a bite to eat, he heard the scampering of four tiny feet up the spiraling flight of stairs, followed by a slower and heavier pair of feet tapping against the stone stairs. As the heavier steps grew louder, the tinier steps faded while a very audible mewling came from behind the library-door.

"Just pull the handle to the right, Kaina." he replied, turning a page of the old tone.

The door came open very slowly, even as Chime scratched against it. The young woman was dressed in high boots that reached her knees, her suit of hard leather armor, and a short scabbard that dangled from her left hip. Her hands were holding a wooden tray which contained a pint of reddish liquid and a plate filled with bread, sausage and scrambled eggs.

"How did you know it was me?" she asked, as Chime hopped up and down to get the young man's attention. Placing the tray on a paper-covered table, the armored young woman sat down.

"You still wear your Academia armor, so the sound of your sword tapping against the wall was a giveaway." he replied analytically. "You know you can wear what the handmaidens picked out for you."

Kaina blushed and shook her head while Chime hopped onto her hips and lay down. "I-I couldn't w-wear that…" she replied. "It doesn't look like I would fit in it."

The young Magelord looked at Kaina up and down for a moment. "True. You're probably too thin." he replied, remembering how the Viceroy enjoyed the… finer things in live. "Do you feel alright?"

Kaina tilted her head to look from afar at the book Demyan was reading. "I… I was wondering the same thing." she retorted. "When I woke up, you weren't in your room, and I had no idea where you were…"

Demyan let out a sigh. "I'm sorry. I've had… pressing matters to attend to." he answered, trying to be diplomatic about it. "After our last dream… I had a vision of some sort. It looked like Laurinya was heading towards Starfall."

The young woman looked confused, which made Demyan remove his mask half-way as to rub his eyes before putting it back on. "You probably don't know, but the creator of Citadel was the Planar-Mage, Reveen."

Kaina thought for a moment. "What's a Planar?" she asked, having trouble understanding what the young Magelord was saying.

"The Planars are the beings that represent all aspects of life and death." he explained, trying to simplify his answer. "Reveen represented Medierth's magic. Legends say that he and Scyens, the Planar-Scholar, taught all people-"

"You mean Master Scyens? Our teacher?" Kaina replied, looking surprised. "Are you saying that Laurinya, you and me, we were being taught by a god?"

Demyan got up and grabbed the pint, swallowed a mouthful of juice, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and sat down next to the tray, while Kayna scratched Chime's head, making the little creature purr.

"Some might say that." he continued. "What legends also tell is that Reveen was exiled from the Divine Council when the magic that raised dead to a semi-living state �" necromancy �" was taught to a mortal girl who had lost her parents. It was said that Xelnos, the Planar-Demon and aspect of death, grew angry at the sight of this that he accused Reveen of trying to overthrow the balance created by the Planars between life and death. He was made mortal and fell to the world of the living, which created Starfall."

Kaina rubbed her free hand against the back of her neck. "So… Laurinya is going there? But where is it, exactly?"

Demyan shook his head. "Unfortunately, the path she chose leads away from Starfall… and into the Blasted Mountains." he replied as he got up, walked to the grimoire and over to Kaina after grabbing it and putting his pint away.

The page the book was open to was a map of the known Medierth. Placing a finger on a marker far to the west of Citadel and some ways to the south, the young man looked back at Kaina for a moment before answering.

"This is the location of the Blasted Mountains." he said, tapping the location with a gloved finger. "It was said that one of Medierth's greatest tyrants, Kadlak the Merciless, waged his last battle there. In his youth, the former Magelord of Citadel, Medai, led a group of allied forced against him, who tried to become the sole ruler of all Medierth. However, as the rebellious forces grew against the tyrant, the madman turned to Xelnos and prayed for the power he needed to end all who stood in his way. The Planar-Demon, who was not so pleased to see a mortal try to overthrow all worship beg for assistance, gave him a poisoned gift: he was granted power, but such power was beyond mortal control. Instead of destroying the allied force, Kadlak destroyed himself, along with almost all of his army �" thousands of humans, elves, and all races dark and evil - and left a gaping hole in what was once a treacherous mountain path."

Kaina took a few moments to think of everything she heard, which caused her to shiver at the thought of so many lives swept away. Though they were dark, no one deserved such an end.

"Both Shardfall and Dyurth…" he said, pointing back at the Blasted Mountains and another area far closer to Citadel, "…are powerful manaweave fields. It is said that Shardfall has the power to grant the prayer's most heartfelt wish. However, Dyurth is a magical dead-zone. Should Laurinya go there… she will end up losing more than her powers."

The young woman stood up, causing Chime to roll off her legs and fall onto the ground. "Th-that's terrible! We need to save her, or else-"

Demyan shook his head. "Actually, it may benefit all of us." he spoke. "Laurinya wishes to undertake the ritual of Starfall, which caused Reveen to become mortal. However, she needs ten celestial fragments to do it."

Kaina looked down for a moment. "She needs what?"

"Pieces of a star." he replied. "They aren't as uncommon as some might say. Ten uncut diamonds, brimming with magical energy, can be used for the ritual, but it will only grant a part of the wish. The path to Dyurth leads through a series of caves controlled by dark races �" ancestors of those of Rokur's army who fled the conflict. They might hold what they think are remnants of their bloodline's treasures, but I believe they actually hold several of the pieces she needs."

The young woman pulled out her short sword. "I can't let them hurt her. Even if she hates me for it… I must protect my sister!"

Demyan let out a sigh. "Of course." he said, keeping silent for a minute. "I suggest you travel quickly, but keep off the open roads. Also, take only what you need… but I do suggest you take this."

The young Magelord rose from his seat, grabbed a small chest, about as wide as Kaina's forearm was long and half as wide. "Reveen kept one piece of the true star with himself." he added, opening the chest to reveal a large polished diamond the size of a dagger, shaped like an icicle. The object seemed to be shimmering with a silvery glow, making Kaina's eyes widen with awe.

"To those of ill intent, it will only appear as stone." he spoke. "Laurinya will be able to sense it, but only when she is close. I suggest you make your own wish before she completes the ritual."

Kaina closed the chest, held it under her arm, and got up. "I'll make sure she comes back." was all she said before opening the library-door and rushing down the stairs, leaving Demyan to finish his drink while Chime was trying hard to climb onto a chair just for a bite of sausage.

Noticing the little creature, the young man lifted the tray. "You should really learn to ask instead of grabbing for any food that comes close."

--
"Sayeth, enough fooling around!" came the cavernous voice of a Horsk, the leader of the Magok cave. The towering half-orc folded his immense arms on his chain mail-covered chest, his greasy hair tied back in a wolf's tail.

The dark elf woman made a grimace, even as she finished her share of raw mutton leg. Wiping her mouth of the blood, she spat at the ground before Horsk's feet. "I'm not going to say that again. I get grumpy when I don't eat."

The ugly warrior frowned. "You've been grumpy for the past week. You're lucky Makka was able to hunt at all, what with that broken wrist you gave him!"

Sayeth would have thrown her dagger at him if she wasn't busy cutting pieces of meat off the bones. "If he tries getting too 'friendly' with me, a broken wrist will be the least of his worries."

The half-orc let out a frustrated grunt as he picked up his cleaver-like great-sword from the stash of weapons that laid about. 'Damn deadweight.' he thought as he turned around, the spiked shield on his back giving proper indication why no one should attack him from behind.

Sayeth grabbed her own blades and got up, throwing the bloody bone behind her. Her previous scouting party had been sent to these parts by the army leader, who had received a very generous contract from… something that looked like a man dressed in a torn cloak that had been splattered with the blood of who knows how many victims. She could still remember the stench of decay and gore from that creature's clothes.

The contract was relatively simple: kill two young women that were on their way to Dyurth, and recover an artifact the client said was previously his, but was stolen by one of the two. Both descriptions had been reasonably vague: a woman with golden hair, dressed like a scholar; and a young ranger with short brown hair.

Over the past ten days, Sayeth had scouted everywhere in the Blasted Mountains �" every nook and cranny that she could travel by foot �" without an idea of where they would come from, or why they would even consider coming here.

It wasn't that the mission was a bore, but Sayeth had grown tired of the incessant ramblings of her squad and had decided to keep the loot for herself. It was also kind of them to leave their rations and water skins. After all, the dead needed no food or drink.

The one thing she hated the most of that mission, aside from being in the sunlight, was that, due to having used up all the rations she plundered from her fallen "comrades", was that she had to rely on a group of mountain thieves �" barbarians, she thought of them �" for food, as the Blasted Mountains wasn't simply a place devoid of magic, but also devoid of any game to hunt, aside from what lived on the outside of the remnants of the blast zone.

Makka, a nervous goblin, was the closest to an archer the ragtag team of scoundrels they had. Larger than the normal rake-framed ones, he was as much of a cut-purse as the rest, but always carried the crossbow that allowed him to hunt. Sometimes, Sayeth wondered if the green-skinned oddball slept with his weapon �" and by the wear of it, he probably did. The goblin was nervous for a reason; he also held the role of scout. Not too cunning with traps, though, as he had lost all of his toes in a bear trap during a midnight hunt, or so he claims.

Normally, when he ran towards the group, the iron soles of his makeshift boots clanging around against the rocks of the pass, everyone knew something was up. The rest was all about reading his facial expressions, as Sayeth didn't have the knowledge nor the patience to learn or speak goblinese.

Today, the look of fright on his face, worse than when the dark elf caught him trying to swipe her dagger �" the object had been given to her by the client as first payment -, was more than enough to tell the tale: they were in big trouble.

Korsk, however, knew perfectly how to understand goblinese, but didn't quite know how to speak it, so he always barked his orders in the common tongue, which Makka fortunately knew enough of to know when to go hunting, when not to touch things, and when to start running.

The hasty goblin jumped up and down, arms flailing, chattering wildly as if his nose had been set on fire. The half-orc leader listened without question until the scout calmed down.

"We got big game today." he spoke. Sayeth knew that the orcish meaning for 'big game' meant the same thing as 'big loot'. "Three humans and a dwarf have been spotted helping a soldier up the pass. Don't know why they're here, but they already took out Makka's scouting party."

A scouting party of goblins never made for a good fight, Sayeth thought.

"From what Makka said, the woman of the group is a witch with gold hair, so I'm sure we can sell her off… after a week of starvation in the dead zone." Korsk spoke, laughing at his own orcish humor.

Sayeth's amber eyes lit up like torches as she got up. 'The first target.' she thought as the rest of the raid party grabbed their gear, no longer listening to Korsk as they readied for battle.

A battle that came too soon… and too late.

-
Laurinya didn't care that Alban had picked up a battle-mage from the Order off the beaten path. She didn't seem to care either when he joined the group, except when he introduced himself as Turalyon, and spoke with much admiration of her skill with magic. And even more when he presented her with an artifact from the Arch's personal treasury. And especially more when she realized what the relic was. Wrapped in rune-layered filigree was a stone the size of a sandal, polished to perfection yet untouched by chisel.

It had taken her a few days to ease up to the idea that the battle-mage was now her apprentice, but she was now used to the attention, as the other men seemed to hold her as a sort of sisterly figure, keeping her away from melee combat. Ever since Turalyon came, she figured he would be as easy to manipulate as the rest.

-
However, during the previous night, while she was asleep, the men of the group spoke amongst themselves, unknown to her.

"She might have a pretty face, but her tongue is worse than a snake." Alban said as he sharpened his sword.

"There does seem to be quite the concentration of chaos around her." Korgan noted, breaking from his prayer. "Lord Raemu does not tolerate such a wild nature, but I was told that he would see to her himself."

Onyx looked through his stash, almost diving into his bag, the magical object making his voice seem like it was coming from inside a cavern. "Probably some wild child that grew up with a silver spoon in her mouth…"

Turalyon stoked the fire and sat down next to the bag where the dwarf's feet were wiggling out of. "Do you know why she came here in the first place?" he asked, shivering from the cold winds that traveled from the north.

"She said-" the dwarf answered, before pulling himself out of the bag. "She said she was looking for Shardfall, but it feels like she doesn't know where it is."

"I do." the battlemage replied. "And we would have to travel west, not north-east."

Alban dropped his whetstone and looked at the dirty blond-haired soldier-mage. "That means she's looking for something here, before going there. But what?"

"I don't know, and by Raemu's name, I would rather be somewhere else than here." Korgan answered as he got up. "This place reeks with chaos and dread."
-

The battle barely lasted moments as the camp had erupted in flames.

'Whoever that witch is', Sayeth thought as she noticed Makka wail around, the warpaint on his skin burning like oil, 'she's doing me a real favor.'

Laurinya had started the battle the only way she knew how: with as much force as she could muster. Reckless is as reckless does, and the golden-haired mage couldn't be any more reckless than she was, as the incandescent sphere would have been large enough to bowl the leader down and trample him �" had it not exploded on contact with the shoddy fortifications that the camp had built out of stone, wooden spears and bones, the latter to scare travelers away.

The dark elf rose from her hiding place and skillfully crept in the shadows as the ranger rushed into the melee with a sword almost too large for any man to wield, cleaving bandits as if they were merely cheese, and he was holding the knife.

Grabbing her dagger, she crawled among the rocks on the west side of the pass, keeping close to the ground to avoid detection. Sayeth's plan was as simple as her often crazed mind could make: sneak past the bulk of the group, sneak behind the mage and gut her, claim her prize and use the ring her taskmaster had given her to teleport out of this sunlit, inhospitable landscape and back to her underground city.

The best laid plans, she thought, as she felt a blade graze her skin.
-

As the camp's fumes started to dwindle, Onyx raised his axe just enough for Sayeth to look up.

"I knew I smelled dark elf." he said, keeping both hands on his axe's shaft, as if preparing to execute her.

Alban soon came back down the pass, holding the head of an orc that the dark-skinned woman instantly recognized. "I took a look around." he spoke as he wiped the blood off his blade with a dirty cloth taken from the camp. "The place is just like the Lost Highlands: nothing but crags, mountains and hardly anything of interest, except for that small lake at the bottom."

Laurinya shook her head, making her golden mane wave around. "Oh, there is something here." she replied, bringing her staff down on Sayeth's hand.

The shock from the staff slapped the dagger out of the white-haired woman's hand. "I'll take this." the emerald-eyed mage said, grabbing the object, which started to shimmer lightly.

Turalyon examined the object. "A well-concealed shard, but it is one of them." he concluded after analyzing it.

Laurinya made a wicked smile. "If there's one here, that means there should be more in the camp. Tura, help me look around."

As both mages walked away, Onyx looked back at Sayeth before turning his head towards Alban.

"What do we do with that one?" he asked, hoping to bring his blade down on her.

The ranger didn't have time to answer the question as the dark elf quickly muttered words in a dark tongue before dissapearing, leaving the dwarf baffled.

Alban thought for a moment before looking at Korgan. "The map reads that this is Magok Cave… so why should we even be here? Once those two have looked around, I say we head west-by-northwest."

Laurinya kept a hold of the object, which had lost its luster. 'It won't be long… until I ride the winds of freedom…'

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