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Over the hosts of goblins preparing for battle, the huge white dragon sailed silently, its rider gently nudging the beast toward the castle father down the valley. Though most of the creatures on the ground crouched under trees or behind rocks to escape the light of the sun, they knew of the dragon's passing as plainly as if it were roaring to announce its presence. Its mere shadow gripped the goblins' hearts and sent them cowering further down until after the great white beast had disappeared below the valley's rim.
The rider shifted nervously in his saddle, an uneasy feeling settling on him as he saw the crowd of celebrating humans huddled around the great stage before the castle. He spoke a command to his steed and the dragon pulled in its wings and dove toward the ground. The startled soldiers protecting the celebration were caught unaware and before they could prepare, the dragon was on them, but it did not attack.
The people ran in terror as the beast fanned great silvery-grey wings wide and came to a gentle landing before the stage. On its platform, the princess Argenta stood her ground, though her pulse raced. Almost as an afterthought, she lifted a ruby the size of a man's fist from its resting place on a nearby table and cradled it carefully in her hands. The rider, wearing fully-enclosing black metal armor, dismounted. A handful of soldiers came running to intercept him, led by a man wearing chain mail who quickly positioned himself between the princess and the intruder.
“I would suggest, Princess,” spoke the dragon-rider as he raised the visor in his helmet, “that you send your soldiers back to the crowd. They'll do more good for you there.”
“Stand your ground, Travis,” Argenta ordered the guard. Looking back to the intruder, she adopted a tone of arrogance. “And who are you to command me?”
“My name is Ellis, lady. I have come for the ruby.”
Argenta's eyes went wide. “The ruby is mine,” she said sternly.
Ellis stared at the guard blocking his way. “Are you as foolish as your princess, or will you let me past?” he asked.
Travis's expression was calm. “Until my lady says otherwise, you may not pass.”
Ellis smiled. “I expected no less.” Glancing over his shoulder, he spoke to his dragon. “Arik?” The white beast lifted its head and fanned its wings wide. A rumbling growl left people running from the stage area in a panic. Argenta clutched the ruby closer to herself, determined to let no other have it. The soldiers remained for only a few seconds, then broke and fled, leaving their frightened, but courageous, leader as the only person between Ellis and the princess.
“If you hand it to me peacefully, your village may be spared. Otherwise, you will face an onslaught by an army of goblins easily capable of doing in your meager militia and any others in your village foolish enough to face them.”
“You threaten me?” Argenta laughed, her voice reflecting a sudden and out-of- place confidence.
“It is not my threat, lady.” Ellis glanced at the valley's rim to the north. “You have little time to decide, Princess. Will you give me the ruby?”
“Only in death!” the princess said as she lifted the gem into the air. An inward light shining from its facets seemed to brighten suddenly and the remaining spectators gasped in astonishment.
Ellis dropped his gaze to the ground. “Then it is too late for Haven.” With a seeming sincerity, he added, “I am deeply sorry for you all, princess.”
In the crowd, a man whispered to his lady, “The time is come, Alha. The enchantment begins now.”
Seagoon checked the straps on his warhorse's saddle for the fifth time. Sorgol paced back and forth impatiently next to the other riding horses. The morning sun had already brightened to mid-day and still Rana and Eril hadn't come out.
“We'll never make it to Lookout by nightfall now,” Seagoon said with a disappointed glance at the door to the Lion's Share inn. “Now I know how my father felt when my mother was still alive.”
Sorgol stopped pacing. “Your mother was rarely on time, I take it?”
“'Never' is a better word. I remember waiting for her to get ready to go to the market when I was young.” Seagoon seemed lost in thought for a moment.
“What does your father do?” Sorgol asked, trying to change the subject.
“He's a priest in Bayton. After my mother died, he became rather philosophical. I guess he decided that he hadn't been devout enough. So, he took to the priesthood.”
“And you left to join the Rangers?”
“No, my mother died after I had joined. My father was still a mason when I left on my first duty.”
“And here you are, helping track a pair of criminals whose trail is four weeks old and whose motives are completely unknown.” Sorgol shook his head in disbelief as he had so many times during the weeks since William had kidnapped Rana and Eril and left them to die lashed to the trees outside Midland. “The world is a strange place.”
“I should have left four weeks ago. I may have been able to pick up their trail.”
“We've been over that before, Seagoon. Rana insisted on helping. We had to wait for her to get over her injuries.”
“You mean her 'illness', don't you? Those two were cured of their wounds within days thanks to your healing spells. Rana, though, was bed-ridden with that disease. I'm surprised she's even up and about this soon.”
“So am I. You can thank Bast for the healing spells, but her sudden recovery from the disease certainly wasn't my doing.”
Seagoon turned back to his horse. “You know I've seen that disease before.”
“Yes, so have I. Usually such things are prevalent in the less 'controlled' brothels.”
“Do you suppose that William –?”
“He said his name was 'Borgos',” Sorgol said, quickly interrupting the ranger, “And no, I don't think he did what you are thinking. There was no evidence either from Rana's condition or from Eril's account of any such liberties being taken.”
“Then how do you account for the disease?” asked the perplexed ranger.
Sorgol paused, thinking. “The world is a strange place, Seagoon, full of even stranger people. Believe nothing that is absolute, for as soon as you do, it will change.” The half-elf turned his attention to his horse's pack and began to check his equipment.
While Seagoon muddled through Sorgol's response in his head, Rana stepped through the door of the inn, her newly-polished chain mail draped awkwardly over a shoulder, carrying sword and scabbard in one hand, and a pack of clothing and food in the other.
“Where's Eril?” asked Seagoon.
“She won't be coming.” Seeing Sorgol checking a long sword in his baggage, Rana tried to divert the conversation away from her cousin. “You've taken to swords now, Sorgol?”
Sorgol looked back, confused for a second. “Oh, this? No, this is the one that William– er, Borgos found on Telmore Island. I wanted to study it when I had the chance.”
Seagoon interrupted. “Why is Eril staying?”
Rana waited a moment. “She decided that she's seen too much violence for now. She wants to be left alone.”
“Is that good enough for you, Rana?” Seagoon asked.
“I tried to talk her out of it, but she was adamant.” She hesitated. “It's her life. I don't blame her for being frightened.”
The three were silent a moment longer.
“Come on, you two,” said Rana suddenly, as she climbed into the saddle of her horse, after packing her equipment in the saddlebags. “We've got a trail to follow. Let's go.” She spurred her mount forward and headed down the main road out of town.
Seagoon grinned and climbed onto his giant warhorse, Macha, and within seconds followed.
After a few hundred yards, the two had to stop and wait for Sorgol. The magician was apparently unaccustomed to horses as he trotted after them, still trying desperately to get himself seated properly in the saddle. The other's laughter certainly didn't help matters, but soon he was in place and the three rode on.
Catharandamus walked slowly around the great white dragon, chains binding its wings tightly, and a makeshift muzzle keeping its fearsome frost breath in check. Around the beast lay dozens of dead goblins, some ripped violently apart, others instantly frozen by the dragon's breath before it was subdued.
A great, grey wolf, wearing a leather backpack, bounded up to the priest and then shifted form into a tall, dark-haired woman. “The castle is ours, love,” she said as she pulled a loose-fitting robe from the pack and quickly slipped the garment on in a practiced maneuver.
“Have any survivors escaped, Alha?” he asked, still looking at the helpless dragon.
“A few slipped past, but I sent some patrols to track them down. We should be able to apprehend most of them.”
“It was to be expected, I suppose,” the priest said with a shade of disappointment. “We must get to work immediately. We cannot afford to have any concerned citizens poking their noses into Haven before the enchantment is complete.”
Alha followed Catharandamus as he headed back toward the stage. “What about the ruby?” she asked eagerly.
“Fear not, love. It will be yours soon. I have need of it for a while longer.”
The two climbed the steps to the stage, passing a dozen stony statues of men. These statues, though, used to be the princess's soldiers. Their flesh had been converted to a smooth stone, while their clothing and hair remained as it was. Atop the stage were two other statues, back-to-back. One, Ellis, had a sword out and ready. The other, Argenta, clutched the ruby desperately in her hands.
Catharandamus gestured carefully and whispered a few words in an ancient language. The ruby glowed brightly, faded away from the statue's grip, and re- appeared in the priest's hand. “The first phase of the enchantment was so simple, my dear,” he spoke to the woman, but stared down at the still-glowing ruby. “In a few days, we shall rule more than this little valley!”
It had taken four days to travel the nearly ninety miles between Midland and the city of Sotton. Seagoon had made the trip more than once, while Sorgol had come the opposite way only months before, after he had returned from the mainland. Rana, though, had never strayed far from Restenford and so was new to this part of the island.
Now, the three rested at an inn just inside the eastern gates to the city. They had been in town for several hours and the sun had just set. Seagoon clutched his mug of ale wearily. “Any luck from you two?”
All the way across the island, the three had asked about William and Wizard. Everywhere they heard the same thing: No one remembered seeing anyone resembling the two criminals. They had hoped that in Sotton their luck would change. Now, they were forced to accept the possibility that perhaps the two had taken a different route.
Rana spoke first. “I asked an innkeeper on the west side of town and he was able to give me a detailed account of every man who had passed through his inn since the first of the year! None of the recent ones fit the description.”
“We must remember that the wizard was an illusionist,” reminded Sorgol. “They could have been in any disguise.”
“I know that,” Rana responded. “But there weren't even two men who checked in at the same time. Even in disguise, the two didn't stay in that inn. I don't even think they came to this city.”
“You may be right, Rana,” conceded Seagoon. “But all we have to go by is that they were headed for Spindrift. One way or another, we will catch up with them.”
“I hope you're right,” said Sorgol, “because now I am almost certain that they weren't here. All I heard when I asked was about some place called Haven.”
Seagoon became suddenly alert. “Haven? What about it?”
“You didn't hear? I'm surprised. I heard nothing else when I was asking around at the Cub and Piper. Some person was claiming that an army of goblins riding dragons came in and took over the village during a celebration. I didn't think there was much truth in his story, but everybody else seemed hooked.”
Seagoon rose from the table. “I must get ready to ride out in the morning. I have to check this out.”
“What?!” The two asked simultaneously.
“I am a ranger,” offered Seagoon in answer. “It's my job to see that the goblins don't do this type of thing anywhere in the kingdom. If there's even an ounce of truth to this tale, I must go.”
“But what about William?” Sorgol pleaded. “He'll get even farther away from us if we are distracted here.”
“I'm sorry, Sorgol, but William takes second place to this for now.” He looked to Rana. “Will you come?”
“What?” She seemed surprised at the question.
“You were trained by the rangers, right? I saw you practicing with your sword. You're almost as good as I am.”
“That's not what I meant,” she said. “I'm surprised you had to ask. If the goblins are coming down from the hills, we mustn't wait. Besides, you saved my life, remember?”
The two looked at Sorgol. The magician raised an eyebrow. “If we pick up on William's trail immediately after this,” he demanded, “you can count me in, too.”
“It's a deal,” Seagoon said. “Let's get some rest. It's almost a full day's ride up to Haven.”
Alha looked over Catharandamus's shoulder cautiously. The priest was hunched over a table, etching an intricate design in a hand-made silver, five-sided platter. Resting in the center, the great ruby glowed, pulsing with each stroke the priest made.
“When will the ruby be mine?” the woman whispered greedily.
“The time will come, my love,” he answered without taking his eyes off of his work. “Do not interrupt me any more.”
Alha stepped back frustrated. “Damn you, Catharandamus! You promised me the ruby, yet you've not let me so much as touch it in the three days we've been here!”
The priest sighed and turned from his work. “When the time is right!” he said slowly through clenched teeth. “Not a moment sooner.”
“And I say the time is now!” she yelled back.
“Look what its done to you, already!” Catharandamus said carefully. “It has affected you. Made you greedy. Don't you see that?”
“I see only your selfishness.”
“Do you know what this ruby would do to you if you were to touch it?”
Alha stopped.
“You saw the princess,” the priest continued. “You saw her greed when that knight Ellis showed up. It has that effect on all females who touch it. When the time is right, though, when you are ready for its power, I will give it to you. Until then, you must wait.”
Alha stepped back. “You had better make haste, then. The full moon will be here in a few more days. If the ruby is not mine by then, you will have no choice in the matter.” She stormed from the room, shifting to her wolf-form in the process.
Catharandamus stared at the door a moment longer. Far down the corridors of the castle, he heard her howl. “The greatest threat,” he mumbled to himself, “is always from within.”
“What is that?” gasped Sorgol, pointing between the rocks they hid behind. Following Sorgol's finger, Seagoon could see little in the twilight. Rana, though, sharing Sorgol's elvish night-vision, could see exactly what it was.
“That is a dragon, Sorgol,” Rana replied casually.
Sorgol's eyes widened. “I don't believe it!”
Seagoon looked back to the castle from their vantage point. “Well, I've seen enough goblins since we got here to agree with that, but I think our real mission is to get inside that castle and see who's caused all this.”
Sorgol looked confused. “Caused it? What do you mean. Isn't it the goblins.”
Seagoon shook his head. “Goblins never venture this close to the cities. Somebody had to lead them or call them here. If we can stop that person, the goblins will probably run for the hills.”
Rana hastily looked both directions, then stood up suddenly and walked toward the castle. “Come on, then. Let's go.”
Seagoon lunged for her, but couldn't pull her back in time. He crouched back in his original position. “Damn that woman! She'll get us killed for sure.” He nervously looked around for goblins. “You can see better than I, Sorgol. Are there any goblins around?”
Sorgol scanned the area carefully. “Dozens.”
“Are any of them in a position to see Rana?”
“It looks as if all of them are.” Sorgol crouched lower. “What do we do now?” he asked. Rana, by this time was half-way to the castle's main gates.
“We wait for the goblins to clear and pray that they're too stupid to notice our impulsive comrade.”
Rana reached the gates without incident and wasn't at all surprised to find them closed and locked. After a few tries at forcing them up, she began pacing around the castle walls looking for another entrance. Suddenly, it occurred to her that she may be seen and so she dropped low and hid in the shadows near the wall. A curious goblin on the wall poked his head down to look around, but missed the crouching Rana and went back to his rounds.
After a nearly fifteen minute wait, Seagoon and Sorgol finally saw their chance and bolted for the castle wall where they had last seen Rana. The two weren't seen and found Rana waiting in the area around the main gate. Seagoon wasted no time when they were reunited.
“You crazy fool! You could have gotten us all killed! What made you think you wouldn't be seen?”
Rana shrugged her shoulders. “What are you so concerned about? I didn't get seen and we didn't get killed.”
“And you didn't think! Don't do it again.”
Sorgol interrupted. “Shall we find a way to get in, or shall we argue louder so that the goblins can hear?”
“We go in through the gates,” Rana answered before Seagoon could respond. “I circled the place and this is the only way in. I tried to work the lock free, but couldn't quite get it. With all of us trying, we should have no problem.”
The three slipped along the castle wall as quietly as possible. Once at the gate, the three strained with all their strength and began to work the gate's lock free. By the time they broke through, though, an alert goblin on the wall had heard their efforts. An alarm went up just as they were swinging the outer gates open.
A flood of goblins issued into the courtyard and made for the inner gate. Sorgol held the other two back. “Hold back. Let them open the gates.” The magician raised his arms and chanted briefly. At the exact second the goblins reached the gate and began to heave on it with their combined strength, he reached out and grabbed onto the metal. A brilliant blue spark leapt from his hands into the metal and suddenly a dozen goblins jumped back in pain as the blue energy coruscated across and through their metal armor and weapons.
Rana and Seagoon ran in after this and found only five standing opponents. Before the shocked goblins could recover from Sorgol's surprise, the two warriors had beaten back the five others and sprinted across the courtyard into the main building, with Sorgol close behind.
The room was silent. In its center, a great five-pointed star was drawn with slightly rank human blood. In the center of that, sat Catharandamus, his silver platter and ruby resting in his lap. He looked up at the walls where four naked female prisoners were hung, strapped by their neck, shoulders, waist, and feet. “You have done well, my lovelies,” he said, smiling, to his captives. “When the old one is set free, you will serve a glorious purpose.”
If they could defy him in any way, they would, but his magic held them immobile. All they could do was feel the pain of their bonds and the indignity of their position. Catharandamus spread his arms wide and spoke a word to the ruby. It issued a bright glow and the women screamed in pain.
“The time is right,” the priest said enthusiastically. “Mine will be the power of the old ones. The knights of valor are no more and Ellis was their last!” He raised his arms and the women screamed again.
The three adventurers walked down a dark corridor cautiously. “The goblins will be on to us shortly,” warned Sorgol. “My spell will only keep them stunned for a few minutes.”
“There must be others around as well, so keep quiet,” offered Seagoon.
A distant scream echoed from deep within the castle. Seagoon looked quickly down the corridor both ways. “Rana, Sorgol. Do you see anything?”
“Nothing,” Rana answered.
“What was that scream?” asked Sorgol.
Seagoon gripped the hilt of his sword tighter. “Odds are that it has something to do with the goblin's leader. Sorgol, do you have any magics that can help now?”
Sorgol shrugged his shoulders. “Not without a crystal ball,” he said half- joking. Meanwhile, Rana slowly opened a nearby door.
Seagoon reached to grab her hand, but missed. “Are you crazy?” he whispered in anger. “Don't just open the doors without thinking. What if there had been goblins in there?”
Rana swung the door wide, staring at Seagoon's face. “Look for yourself, commander,” she said sarcastically. “I don't see any goblins!”
Sorgol looked in and gasped, “Gods be praised!”
The other two stopped glaring at each other long enough to glance in to the room. There, seated on a stool was the statue of an elderly man dressed in traditional wizards' garb. He was hunched over a metal holder as if in contemplation. In the holder rested a perfect sphere of clear crystal nearly a foot across.
The three entered the room silently. Rana and Seagoon carefully examined the statue, while Sorgol went immediately to the crystal ball.
“This was a man!” exclaimed Rana as she traced her fingers over the statue's face. “His hair is real!”
Sorgol waved his hands over the crystal ball and concentrated. To his surprise, the crystal glowed faintly and a picture appeared in its interior. “It must still be attuned to the last person viewed,” answered Sorgol to the others' unasked question.
The ball showed a dimly-lit room with four women chained to the walls and a man in the center gesturing as if casting a spell with an enormous, red-glowing ruby. Instantly, the man stopped and seemed to look up at the viewers. Sorgol panicked and waved his hand over the ball. The image faded.
“That looked like a dungeon room to me,” suggested Seagoon.
“Have you been here before?” asked Rana.
“No, but the place isn't as large as most castles. We should be able to find it by heading down.”
The three continued their trek and soon found a stairway down. In the distance, they heard the goblins enter the building and begin their search. Their haste and the fact that they had seen no goblins inside pushed them to take more risks. They opened door upon door and listened carefully for more screams.
Suddenly, Sorgol pushed open a door and came face to face with a grubby man wearing chain mail. A red, hazy glow emanated from his eyes and, as he saw Sorgol, he screamed a battle cry and pulled a silvered throwing dagger from his belt. Sorgol dove for cover around the door, but the dagger was already thrown and, with an eerie humming noise, it arced around the doorway and slashed across Sorgol's back, altering its flight path even after it left the man's hand.
Seagoon and Rana, checking nearby doors, saw the dagger glance off Sorgol's back and immediately drew their weapons. The crazed man leapt from the room with a small sword in hand and lunged at Seagoon, his first available opponent. His thrust cut only air as the ranger deftly dodged. Rana, meanwhile, had maneuvered around to the other side to prevent the man from getting another attack at Sorgol. Sorgol, meanwhile, had crawled further from the battle and began a healing enchantment.
“Spare his life, if you can,” pleaded Sorgol. “He may know where the dungeon room is!”
Rana and Seagoon were easily more than a match for the man as he seemed poorly prepared for combat. His fatigue was evident when, after only a few lunges, his sword grip slipped and Rana was able to knock the weapon from his hands. Seagoon took the opportunity, dropped his own sword, and pinned the mans arms with his own.
Rana stepped up to the man as Seagoon held him immobile, and placed the point of her sword at his throat. “Don't move, or you'll never move again.” Though her voice could have made even the most sinister criminal think twice, the man began to thrash violently, trying to escape Seagoon's hold. Rana, to avoid accidentally slashing the man's throat, pulled her sword away and stepped back to Sorgol.
“Do you see his eyes?” asked Sorgol quietly in elvish.
Rana studied the still-thrashing man. “Yes,” she said with surprise as she saw the red glow for the first time. “Is he a wizard of some type?”
“I think not,” answered Sorgol. “More likely, he is under some sort of curse.” The magician stepped forward and held his silver symbol to Bast out. He spoke a few arcane words at the madman and touched him gently on the forehead. Instantly, the man stopped thrashing and Seagoon was able to relax his hold slightly.
“Why did you attack us?” asked Sorgol slowly.
The man's eyes began pulsing eerily with their red glow. “I … was … afraid,” he answered with effort.
“We are not here to harm you,” spoke Sorgol. “You need not fear us.” The man relaxed further. “What is your name?”
His eyes stopped pulsing, remaining a steady red. “My … name … Travis,” he said carefully.
“Travis, we must know who is down here. Do you know who has done this to Haven?” For a moment Sorgol grew worried. His calming spell was a simple one, and so was easy to break. If he pushed too hard, the man might go berserk again.
Then, Travis answered. “No one … has done this. The ruby. It is … the cause.”
Sorgol nodded slowly. “The ruby? And who has the ruby?”
“Please,” Travis pleaded. “Release me.”
Seagoon looked at Sorgol, questioningly. Sorgol discreetly shook his head. “Who has the ruby, Travis?” he asked again.
“The one called … Catharandamus … is with the ruby now. Please let me go,” he said again. “I can help save you from it.”
Sorgol thought a moment, then nodded to Seagoon. The ranger carefully released his hold and let Travis free. For a second, the man remained motionless, then he spoke. “You have come too far. To save you from the ruby, I must kill you.” Before Seagoon could react, Travis dropped to the floor and grabbed his sword. With a surprising display of energy, Travis swung his blade up and caught the unarmed ranger across his mid-section. Seagoon let out a breathless cry of pain and was thrown hard against the wall, his armor only barely protecting him from the double blow.
Rana acted instinctively. Her speed with a weapon outraced her rational thought and, in one swift motion, while Travis readied for a second attack on Seagoon, she buried the tip of her sword in the madman's back. The red glow faded from his eyes and, a second later, his lifeless body fell to the floor, Rana's weapon still protruding from his back.
Sorgol rushed to Seagoon, who by now had caught his breath and was trying to stand. Rana covered her mouth with her hands. “I didn't think,” she gasped.
Seagoon stepped over and placed a hand on her shoulder. “You did the right thing. Another second and I could have been dead.”
Rana looked up and tried to smile. “Then I guess we're even,” she said after a pause.
Sorgol bent down to pick up Travis's thrown dagger. It glowed dimly when he touched it. “As I thought,” he said, diverting the attention of the two from each other. “The dagger he threw is enchanted.” He turned it over in his hands, examining each detail. “Silver, too,” he mused, “My guess is that it is best when thrown.” He looked up at the others. “Are either of you any good at throwing knives?”
“Give it to me,” Rana said grimly. “We've got to get going or more people are likely to die.” She took the dagger, thrust it unceremoniously into her boot, and continued down to hallway, leaving Seagoon and Sorgol to follow.
Alha paced nervously in front of the door to the enchantment room. Ahead of her, the hallway intersected with the main passage through the dungeons. Behind her was a dead end. Four goblins, loyal more to Catharandamus than to her, waited impatiently at the intersection. They will come soon, she thought. A moan of pain from the enchantment room brought her attention away from the waiting goblins.
“Damn you, Catharandamus!” she muttered quietly to herself. She stepped to the door and pushed it open suddenly. The priest sat in the center of the room, his arms held steady as part of a complex gesture, the ruby resting on its silver platter in his lap. A deep, humming noise from the gem echoed the tone which he used in the enchantment. Red beams of light connected the facets of the great gem to the foreheads of the four prisoners chained to the walls.
Alha hesitated only a second before interrupting. “Your precious enchantment will have to wait, love. The ones you warned me of could be here any minute. We cannot afford to lose the ruby!”
The priest concentrated, trying to ignore the intrusion. Alha persisted, growing irritated. “If we don't do something now, we will lose our chance to try later!”
Catharandamus' hand twitched at the wrong time. The beams of light quivered and died. The priest was furious. “You fool! Now I'll have to start over. If you interrupt me one more time, my summons will fail completely and we will have to get new sacrifices!” He resumed his gestures, ignoring Alha's frustration.
With a thought, the woman shifted her form into a transitional half-wolf, half- human and stormed from the room, slamming the door behind her. A curious goblin took one look as she emerged and received such a growling stare in return, that he sheepishly turned back to the intersection. Alha pounded her fists together and carefully switched back to human form. “Very well,” she muttered. “But when they come, I won't give you a choice in the matter. The ruby will be mine!”
Another scream echoed through the passageway, jerking the three adventurers to attention. “That was close!” whispered Seagoon.
Rana drew her sword and walked slowly to where the corridor turned to the right. With the others close behind, she carefully peered around the corner. Sorgol raised an eyebrow and leaned close to Seagoon. “So now she decides to be cautious? Before she was barging into rooms and corridors without a second's delay.” He chuckled to himself. “I wonder what makes this one any different?”
As if in answer to his question, Rana turned back to the others. “I see some goblins down this way. It looks like their guarding the entrance to a branching corridor.”
Seagoon cast a blank gaze on Sorgol. “Her luck is something else, eh Sorgol?” The surprised magician said nothing.
The three conferred for a few moments, planning what to do. The rangers prepared their weapons, while Sorgol pulled a small piece of parchment from his pockets. He carefully rolled the piece into a small cone and spoke a few hushed words at it in an arcane tongue. The paper faded into nothingness and Sorgol cupped his hands to his mouth, speaking in a gruff goblin-like voice, “Hey you guys! Dere is an elf to kill over here!” Though his lips moved, no sound came from his mouth. Instead, his voice appeared far down the hallway, past the goblins in their branching corridor. The group remained silent, waiting for a response.
As Rana watched, two of the goblins left to investigate. As soon as the two goblins had their backs to them, the rangers moved down the hallway quickly and quietly. Rana and Seagoon were on the two remaining goblins before they could react. The other two came running at the first noise, and Sorgol quickly began another spell.
Rana knocked her opponent senseless to the ground with a body blow, while Seagoon's sword cut deep into the other's unprotected neck. Before Rana's goblin could stand, she pinned the creature down and pushed her blade into its chest. Sorgol completed his spell with effort and stepped toward the others, his left hand glowing and crackling with a blue energy.
Down the second hallway, Alha watched apprehensively. When the first two goblins fell, she opened the door to the enchantment room furiously. Catharandamus sat in the center, the gem floating free about two feet above his lap. The four prisoners had long since lost their capacity to scream in pain, their bodies shriveled almost beyond recognition. The priest had his eyes closed and chanted repetitively, with beads of sweat forming on his forehead. Alha stepped in and grabbed the ruby from where it floated. “You lost your chance, old man!” she said as the priest was stunned to awareness. “The enemies are here. The ruby is mine.”
Red beams of light pulsed around the room as she held the gem and Catharandamus screamed in pain, his eyes glowing red. “You have ruined everything!” he said, his voice echoing strangely through the small chamber. Alha stuffed the ruby in a small backpack and ignored the man who once she loved. Inside the backpack, the ruby stopped glowing. Then a second later, in a final, mystical release, it flashed so brightly that even through the leather in the backpack, Alha was temporarily blinded. Catharandamus crumpled to the floor unconscious.
Outside, the two remaining goblins closed on the adventurers. Rana was able to dodge the first attack, but Seagoon met his opponent with less luck. The ranger was clearly superior in combat, but he had taken too much of a beating earlier from Travis. His opponent sent him flying into the wall with a well-placed kick, leaving a clear path to Sorgol. The half-elf thought through his options in an instant and took a step forward. The goblin was surprised, since Sorgol had no weapon in hand, but was even more surprised when he felt a burning electric shock course through his armor and sword. The goblin fell stunned to the ground before he could swing his weapon even once at the unarmored Sorgol.
Seagoon picked himself up just as Rana delivered the death blow to her goblin. Sorgol began a healing enchantment without delay. Rana, though, seeing movement, turned her attention to the corridor that the goblins had come from. It was a dead end with a single, partly-open door on the right wall. As Rana looked, a brilliant red flash came from the room.
Sorgol completed his healing enchantment and sat down exhausted next to the still-injured Seagoon. “Sorry about that, Seagoon,” he said wearily. “But I've tapped quite a lot of energies today. Spell casting beyond one's limits can really do that to you.”
Seagoon moaned in agreement and pointed lazily at Rana as she jogged down to the ajar door. “Oh, let her go!” Sorgol said apathetically. “She doesn't seem to be able to get into trouble, no matter how careless she is.”
A second later, Rana came running from the room, sword in hand, screaming, “Werewolf!” Her warning gave even the wounded Seagoon renewed energy. The two exhausted men scrambled to a standing position when they saw a huge grey wolf wearing a small backpack step through the doorway. Rana, now in the open space of the hallway, felt she had an advantage. She turned to face the beast, her sword positioned defensively in front of her.
The wolf rose, changing into its half-human transitional form, while Rana lunged forward with her blade. The creature made no sound as the sword cut deep into its shoulder, but Rana's satisfaction turned to shock when the wound rapidly closed over. In retaliation, a raking claw left a trio of four-inch gashes on the surprised ranger's face, and sent her stumbling toward the wall.
Temporarily stunned by the flash of pain, Rana grip loosened on her sword and it clattered to the stone floor. Seagoon and Sorgol watched in horror as the werewolf readied to slash again at the vulnerable half-elf, but at the last instant, as if in call to something unseen, it stopped and ran toward the two men. Rana was quick to regain her senses and seeing the wolf bounding away from her, pulled the silver throwing dagger from her boot. The wolf-woman's form shifted into a full wolf by the time she had crossed the distance between Rana and the others. It leapt at Seagoon, teeth bared, while Rana heaved the dagger down the corridor.
With a humming noise, the dagger homed in on the werewolf and buried itself in the creature's back just as it landed on the injured ranger, still struggling to ready his weapon. The wolf howled and twisted off him. Sorgol staggered back and tried another electrical enchantment, but his resources were exhausted. The attempt left him grasping the wall to remain standing.
The wolf shook violently, sending the dagger tumbling to the floor. It glared at Seagoon for a second, then bounded away down the corridor that the three had originally come from. Rana ran up before it had rounded the corner, and grabbed the dagger from the floor. The wolf, though, disappeared around the corner before she could throw the blade. Seagoon and Sorgol breathed a sigh of relief at their close call. Rana, though, began down the corridor after the wolf. “It has the ruby,” she explained. “I saw it in the backpack.”
The two men looked at each other. “The screams,” reminded Sorgol. “There must be prisoners in there.”
Seagoon gestured down the corridor toward the enchantment room. “Sorgol, check the room out. Rana,” he gestured in the direction of the wolf, “follow that wolf. I'll try my best to keep up.” Rana took off running before he had finished his sentence.
As Sorgol pushed open the door to the enchantment room, Catharandamus was just getting to his feet. The two looked at each other for a second, then Sorgol saw what was left of the four prisoners on the wall. “Who are you?” he asked angrily.
Catharandamus' eyes glowed a soft red color. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. Sorgol took a step forward, one hand conspicuously resting on his one and only weapon: a small knife. Catharandamus stood up straight with renewed energy. “You shall not come any nearer!” he suddenly commanded. “I still have the power!”
Sorgol stopped, studying the man's face. “You're mad.”
Catharandamus raised his arms furiously and a blast of red light leaped from his open palms, burning into Sorgol's chest, sending him stumbling back through the door.
Though he suffered no physical wound, Sorgol felt helpless as his attacker stepped out of the room. The exhausted half-elf struggled to stand, but by that time Catharandamus had turned and was running off down the corridor. The half- elf watched him leave. The thought of pursuit never entered his mind.
Elsewhere in the castle, Rana, with the enchanted dagger in hand, followed a trail of blood, getting thicker and more distinct with each step. Suddenly, around a corner, she caught up with her target. The beast was limping pathetically, but at the sight of Rana, it turned and stood its ground, a snarling growl forcing Rana to stop, also. The two stared at each other for a moment, before Rana moved to throw her dagger. The wolf reacted simultaneously and lunged for the ranger's throat. Again the dagger hummed, and again it struck its target, this time arcing almost ninety degrees to bury itself in the creatures ribs. As a dying gesture, it tried to rake its claws across Rana's chest, but her armor prevented any serious damage.
By the time Seagoon had caught up with her, the half-elf was turning the giant ruby over and over in her hands, looking deep into its facets, as if entranced. When he approached, she looked up. “I don't see what all the fuss is about. It's just a ruby.”
Seagoon raised an eyebrow. “Just a ruby, eh? Have you ever seen a ruby that size before?”
Rana grinned as she dropped the gem back in its backpack. “Dear, I've never seen a ruby at all!” The two headed back to find Sorgol.
The three adventurers emerged from the castle into the night air, Sorgol carefully carrying the backpack with the ruby. Seagoon and Rana held their swords at the ready, in case any goblins tried to prevent their passage. Luckily for them, the only visible goblins were far away and seemed to be fleeing. Seagoon scanned the darkness for movement. “Are you sure this is going to work, Sorgol?”
“I am as sure as the circumstances will allow me to be,” the magician answered ambiguously.
The three moved quickly from the castle walls, toward a large wooden stage a hundred yards away. There, thrashing against three-inch thick chains, was the dragon they had seen earlier. Sorgol breathed a sigh of relief. “Good, it's still here.”
The rangers looked at Sorgol expectantly. “Well?” asked Rana. “This was your idea. You're supposed to be the expert.”
Sorgol looked back at the two. “I'm going. One can never be too cautious about an undertaking such as this.” The half-elf stepped toward the beast, leaving the others behind. After several hesitations, the magician eventually reached close enough to the dragon that he could feel the cool air near its body. “An ice-dragon,” he muttered to himself.
Just then, the dragon stopped tugging at its chains, and shot a glance at the approaching half-elf. Sorgol froze in his tracks as the beast's huge eyes examined him carefully. A large, metal muzzle covering the dragon's mouth gave Sorgol little comfort, though he was able to hold his ground, against his instinct to flee.
“Oh great dragon!” Sorgol shouted. “I have a task that only one such as yourself can accomplish.”
The dragon made a low growling noise.
“Can you understand me?” Sorgol shouted slowly.
The dragon stopped growling and slowly raised its head once up, and then again down.
“Goddess!” whispered the astonished Sorgol. Then, shaking his apprehension aside, he pulled the ruby from its pouch. “This is evil! It must be destroyed.”
The dragon made no sound. It moved its head up and down once more.
“If I can release you, will you destroy this?”
Again the dragon nodded its head.
Sorgol waved the others forward and the two rangers quickly ran to the two huge metal posts that anchored the dragon to the ground. With some tools they had uncovered in the castle, they began hacking and sawing at the enormous locks. Sorgol carefully set the ruby on the ground and walked to the side. A moment later, Rana had cut through one of the dragon's chains. Before Seagoon could finish with his, the beast rose up on its hind legs and gave an enormous tug on the remaining chain. The three-inch metal bent and snapped, sending the dragon crashing to the ground near Rana.
For another minute, the beast scraped and clawed at its muzzle and the chains that bound its wings with its newly-freed forelegs, until those, too, fell clanking to the ground. The beast turned its head toward Sorgol and growled. The half-elf froze in fear, but the dragon made no hostile move. Instead, it stepped toward the ruby and raised its head high with an enormous inhale. It spread its wings wide and breathed a cone of icy air down at the ruby. The very force of the blast dug a foot-deep hole and sent a gust of sub-freezing, dusty air in all directions. In the center of the conflagration, the ruby grew instantly brittle and cracked. A brilliant red flash illuminated the area for a hundred yards in all directions.
When the dust and ice settled, Sorgol and the others stood where they had been, but with a thin layer of frost and dust over their bodies. With the initial shock still reeling in Sorgol's mind, it took a few seconds to register the fact that they were not alone. Up on the stage, a woman stood. Next to her, a man in black armor. All around the stage, a crowd of men and women wandered confusedly. Sorgol smiled, and collapsed to the ground exhausted.
“The curse has been lifted,” he mumbled to the obviously confused Seagoon. “Those that were turned to stone by the ruby have been restored. I expect that the goblins won't be staying for much longer, either.”
Seagoon placed his hand on the magician's shoulder. “You ever think of becoming a ranger?”
The restoration of Haven lasted several weeks, but it was only three days before the princess Argenta and the dragon-rider Ellis called for an official celebration in honor of the three heroes who had saved them all. Argenta was apologetic about her reaction to others, because of the curse the ruby has over females. Rana shifted uneasily with this revelation, wondering why the ruby had not affected her as it had Argenta. Eventually, she shrugged it off, turning her attention back to the ceremonies.
Later, after the three heroes had told of their journey into the castle, they were presented with gifts. Argenta gave Rana a golden pendant, set with a fragment of the original ruby, cut and polished. The local dwarves gave Seagoon a finely crafted sword, engraved with runes said to have magical properties. Mirablis, the court wizard (after some prodding from Argenta), gave his crystal ball to Sorgol.
Modestly denying the importance that his part had played, Sorgol decided at this time to present his own gift to Ellis. He pulled the magic sword found on Telmore Island from its bundles and held it out to the dragon-rider. “I have a hunch that this weapon can only be wielded by one who is worthy.” Ellis reached out and took the sword, which immediately began glowing with a bright yellow light.
After the festivities, the three stayed on to help repair the damage caused by the goblins, but Ellis departed early the morning following the celebration, saying that he had to try to find Catharandamus. The three were abruptly reminded of their original quest to find William. After some thought, though, they decided to remain.
“After all,” reasoned Rana. “You have the crystal ball, now. We should be able to track him down no matter where he is.”
Sorgol was reluctant, but agreed. “I hope, though, that in the interim, he has not already maimed or killed others.” A phantom pain flared in his missing toe. “He will not be able to run forever.”
It was a fraction of a second that lasted over a thousand years. A millennium of darkness, emptied of all substance and time. Now, a ruby-red beam of light gave substance and time where none was before and the creature who was once a man opened his eyes for the first time in eleven centuries.
“Where am I? Where was I?” he thought. In answer, an awareness came to him. The events unfolded in his mind.
“A thousand years?” he tried to speak aloud, but no sound left his mummified lips. He lifted his arms to make sure his body responded properly. He spoke again and this time the words formed. Reality was opening a window to him at last.
A name came to him from the awareness. “Catharandamus? He is the link. He is the tool. He is afraid.”
The awareness told him more. It told him of the world and the people in it. Every man alive was part of the awareness and every man alive was known to him. He thought to the past and tried to remember how he had fallen into the darkness.
Though it was one thousand and ninety years ago, the memory formed as clearly as if it had happened only a moment ago, for in the creature's mind, it had.
“Auren Iláy. You were the cause. You are to blame.” The awareness did not know this man. “That is as it should be. Even the great Ainagfls do not live that long.”
Time passed slowly. He tried to move and found his space confined. “My way will be clear soon,” he said aloud when the awareness answered his questions. He thought about heroes. Always they had defied his will. No matter their power, they had always challenged him. No matter how many wills he shattered, there were always heroes.
“Will there be heroes, now?” The awareness moaned and parted to reveal the mists of fate. The strands of reality twisted before the creature and he traced their paths. “Many intersect, but only one cuts mine. There is only one hero?”
The awareness returned and the creature was pleased at the answer. “Who is the hero? A king? A mage? A god? These all I have faced and defeated. What then can challenge me?”
The creature grew perplexed. “A warrior? Just a warrior? What can this mean? Surely, he is strong, but I have seen stronger. He is skilled with a sword, but not as skilled as I.”
He studied longer. “His name is Sigurd. A name of strength, but not of a hero. But, he does not use this name?”
The awareness revealed more. “He uses the name Seagoon? What a fool to hide behind such a nickname. He knows not his destiny? Then, his strand may be severed before mine is cut. He shall die, and the world shall be mine!”