Piercing the Soul

Muld uses an extreme measure to stop the pirates.

18.

Piercing the Soul

 

“For God’s sake, we’ve got to stop; Muld’s still on the ship!   Please!”  Syndi screamed as Rick pushed her forward at a full run.

“We’ve got to trust him, Syndi!   He said run and we’ve got to run!”

The Losasidhe girl complied, knowing what Rick said was best, but as they dashed over the grass of the semi-tundra, she knew something overwhelmingly awful was about to happen.

Syndi prayed desperately as she ran, her mind frantically trying to think of something - anything- to save Muld.

 

Then, all at once, there was a flash of white light and a strong force, throwing them all violently forward to the ground, followed, a moment later, by a deafening explosion.

Syndi rolled to her back, wildly looking behind her, instinctively upward in the sky.    They had covered perhaps a third of a mile on foot, but it had barely been enough.    In the sky, The Locust was no more, in its’ place was what seemed like a miniature sun, for it glowed with a white light for a few seconds before the color changed to an orange hue.     Debris fell from the sky, several pieces raining down even as far away as where Syndi and the others lay.  

The explosion had destroyed all of the airships.

Syndi leaped to her feet, but her legs buckled and she sank down to her knees, dimly aware of a high pitched wailing sound, which took her a while to realize came from her own mouth.

It was like her soul had been ripped out of her.    Her mind burned, her heart felt as if it had burst within her and she knew without a doubt that she would absolutely die.

Around her, some of the others were grabbing at her, trying to restrain her, trying to calm her down.

But she could not be calmed; it was too late for that.    She had no idea what was happening to her.   Every part of her body ached and yet she was numb from head to toe.    Her ears rang so loudly that all she could hear were her own screams.   

Her life was over; she was dead.    He was gone, having sacrificed himself for them and for her.

Leaving her alone, separated from him.  

Forever.  

Insanity poured over her like thick syrup.    Terrible anguish rolled over her.    She felt herself jerk free from hands grabbing at her, now -somehow- on her feet again, running into the debris field.

She’d join him there; she had to join him there!   Her soul demanded it.   He couldn’t leave her!

Distantly she heard Rick and the others yelling after her, but she ran single-mindedly through burning wood, melted metal and twisted corpses of burnt pirates.

Syndi saw none of this.    Her red hair flowed behind her as some mysterious instinct pulled her forward like a magnet.     She leaped over bodies and weaved around piles of ruin.

For several minutes she just raced forward, without thinking.

But then something began to change.

Her heart pounded as a strange feeling slowly grew inside of her.   It wasn’t a hope, not a prayer, but was as certain as anything that she had ever felt, and it was growing stronger every moment. 

Muld was alive!

Her eyes filled with tears, but somehow she managed to see with an inner eye, guided by her heart.

Behind her, her companions heard her horrifying screams of agony suddenly stop, replaced with a different sound.    Looking at each other in confusion, they continued to run after her.

 

All of reality, all of her existence, zeroed in like a candle lit in a dark room.   Ahead was a huge pile of rubble, some of it still burning.    Syndi did not hesitate, but with strength far beyond her, she ripped piece after piece of debris away, not feeling the fire on her flesh.

Her eyes wild with hope and anticipation, she savagely threw things aside.    Dimly, she was aware that the others had joined her and were trying to help her.     Rick and Mutt pulled the final piece off the ground and flung it aside.

No bodies were underneath it.

“Syndi, please, he’s not-“   Rick said sympathetically, but to his dismay, she did not seem to notice.   Laughing joyfully, she ran forward and picked up a slightly burnt money pouch lying on top of several pieces of shattered glass and metal.

The girl took the bag and dropped to her knees, still laughing happily.

Rick and the others shot glances at each other, uncertain what to do for the poor elven girl who had obviously gone completely insane in grief.

Syndi pulled open the cords, and to their amazement, reached inside, then leaned over, somehow disappearing halfway into the bag.

“Yesh be praised!”  Tadd gasped, “Muld’s Bag of Holding!”  

The halfling seemed to understand suddenly and ran forward, yelling for the others to join him.

As he came to the bag, Syndi began pulling frantically on something inside the magic bag.   

Tadd reached in and helped the Losasidhe princess.    A hand and arm, not belonging to either one of them appeared out of the top of the bag.

“My God!    He jumped inside his Bag of Holding!”   Mutt yelled, rushing forward to help Syndi and Tadd.

“He’s alive, but hurt!”   Tadd called from within.     The others gathered around and stuck their arms inside, clutching the unconscious Practical Magician and pulled him through the opening.

The magic room within the bag was littered with Muld’s treasures, which looked as if the impact of the fall had disrupted everything.   All of the Guild members knew about the magic bags and could deduce what had happened.   Bags of Holding were extra-dimensional places that kept the contents safe from any damage that occurred outside in the ‘real world’.    When the part of the pouch in the real world was damaged by fire, it began to lose some of its’ extra-dimensional qualities.  

Muld’s Bag of Holding survived the blast, but was singed, and so when it fell to the ground, a lesser portion of the impact was transferred to the contents inside, which caused the stuff stored there to crash down on top of Muld; who had apparently taken refuge inside.

“He probably got in there and reached out and pulled that lever on the captain’s console that he refused to tell us about,”   Jevon said as they carried him out of the debris field and gently placed him on the grass.

“It had to be that lever, it looked very ominous to me and I knew it would do something awful when pulled.   I remember how he looked when we asked about it during the tour of the ship.   Muld said he wouldn’t talk about it for now, but whatever we did, to not touch it,”  Rick agreed.

 “He had all of his old master’s books, scrolls and furniture in that Bag of Holding.   The bookcase fell on him, I’d say,”  Tadd speculated.

“He has a concussion,”  Mutt added, standing next to Syndi, who was cradling his head, which had a large cut in it, “We’ve got to get him a healer.   Does anyone have any healing potions or devices on them?”

None of them had any healing potions, but Syndi suddenly slipped off her boot and pulled a ring off of her second toe and slipped in on Muld’s finger.

“It’s an Autocaster ring,”  She said in a voice quite hoarse from screaming, “If he is about to die while wearing it, he will be healed and transported to my parents’ room in the Losasidhe palace.”

“Hopefully it won’t come to that,"  Rick replied, touching her shoulder gently, “How about you?   Are you okay?”

She looked up wearily, but with a gleam in her eyes, as she continued stroking Muld’s hair, “I am now.”

 

***

 

The explosion was heard for many miles away, and to their relief, a Marksylvania airship returning home to Westmark, appeared a few minutes later.   But as it was sending down a levitating platform to take Muld and the others on board, Muld suddenly vanished.    Syndi screamed in dismay, but the others calmed her, reassuring her that the ring that she had put on his finger would keep him alive and well at the Losasidhe capital.

“We’ve got to go there immediately!” She demanded of the captain of The Ethereal Queen.   The look in her eyes told him that she was not going to take any answer other than ‘At once’ from him.

Thankfully, the airship’s wizard had a crystal ball, and Syndi contacted her mother, telling her what had happened.    The crew cringed when their conversation turned to a shouting match, but the princess was in no mood to be trifled with and to the amazement of all who knew her mother, Syndi won.

“What’s wrong with her?”   Mutt asked Rick and Jevon a while later as they stood outside on the airship deck, getting some air before they took off for the Losasidhe capital.

“You mean Syndi or her mother?”  Rick joked.

“I mean Syndi - I was mortified when I thought Muld was dead, but… well, I thought the girl was going to either die right there or go insane.”

Jevon nodded, “Yeah, we were talking about that too.   I knew she was fond of Muld, but that was… well, weird is the only word I can think of.”

“Creepy and pitiful too.”  Rick added, “It was almost like she was dying with him… or thought she was going to die.    She was still upset about seeing those pirates burned alive due to her fireball spell, so maybe she was just emotionally spent.”

Mutt shrugged, “I don’t know, but she was guarding Muld like a lioness.    She wouldn't leave his side.   She had a wild look in her eyes right up to the moment he disappeared.”

“Maybe she’s just concerned about him,”   Jevon suggested.

“No, there is something else… something deeper than that, and it apparently came out when she thought he had died.”

“She could have a crush on him,”   Mutt theorized.

Rick shook his head, “That was something far deeper than a crush.   It was like he was everything in her world.   As far as I know, they weren’t dating or anything.”

“It’s odd, I know that for sure,”  Mutt said with a sigh, “But let’s not say anything to her, or Muld for that matter.   At least not for a while.    It’s their business.    If Syndi is in love with him, we should respect that.”

“Syndi in love with him; the lucky fool,”  Rick commented and they all laughed, heading back inside to prepare for the trip north.