The sound of moving water echoed through the karst, making it difficult to hear. My nose twitched as the decayed smell of mushrooms assailed my sense of smell. There were a couple of torches thrown about, but they weren’t placed very strategically. It took my eyes a few precious seconds to adjust to the darkness.
In that time, my side was skewered by the Blackwood Queen’s thorn.
Gritting my teeth in pain, I noticed that the wound wasn’t numbing like it was before. There wasn’t any poison on her weapon for this attack. She may have used it all up on Cojisto, whom she was fighting. We had appeared in front of him; I could tell that from his labored breathing and his surprised gasp at our appearance.
I shifted into Sophia, knocking her back into Ferrisdae and away from danger. Both of the spellcasters needed to stay far away from the front lines, and my movement just so happened to keep the Kitsune safe while meeting my own needs. The thorn in my side was pulled free.
The Blackwood Queen’s thorn was longer than it was when I fought her, more akin to a pike than an estoc. I needed to clear that distance. With a clean motion despite my injury, I knocked her weapon aside with my shield and lunged forward.
“Freeze!” I yelled, raising my sword. My blade began to glow with a cold blue aura, and the air around it became so chilled that I could see it.
Ahead of me, the Blackwood Queen let out a wooden laugh. “Bloom!”
Not knowing what was about to happen, I raised my shield and lowered myself to the ground to increase coverage. I shifted my arm, going for a low sweep instead of a downwards cut, when I was suddenly stopped in my tracks.
The Blackwood Queen’s thorn exploded at the tip. I watched through the enchanted transparent metal as several branches came at me at once. Sliding across the rough, wet stone as I skidded to a stop, I pulled my legs in under my shield. The impact of seven different spears was too much, and I was pushed backwards.
Unfortunately, it didn’t end there. One by one, each of the branches pulled away from the shield and slammed into it again as if they were determined to pierce through my cover. I stopped sliding, but only because I was pushed against an small incline. Every attack slammed me into the ground and I waited for my opportunity.
Light appeared high in the air around us, illuminating the entire karst. Sophia had done that. I knew because I could hear Ferrisdae trying, and failing, to cast a spell herself. Now that she found herself in combat, her trauma wasn’t so easy to ignore.
Bringing her was a bad idea, I thought bitterly. She’s not ready.
Now that I had the opportunity, as pinned down as I was, I looked around. The room was larger than I expected with a wide river cutting through the two sides. The Blackwood Queen was much easier to see now that she didn’t blend into the darkness. She looked like a creature that had been punched a few too many times, but something else caught my attention.
Across the river was a figure not too much taller than I was. Their body was covered by a dark aura that made picking out details impossible. The only thing that wasn’t shrouded was a staff that looked like it was constructed from some kind of stone.
Lying a few feet away from them was Moose. He was still breathing, but he was heavily injured. Cuts, scrapes, and gouges lined his body much like we had seen with Cojisto through the scrying mirror. His eyes were open, though I could clearly tell the state of delirium he was in. That must have been where all the poison went.
Dalsarel was nowhere to be seen.
I took this all in during at a moment’s glance and came up with a course of action. “Ferrisdae, get Cojisto up and help Moose! Sophia, with me!”
“Got it,” Cojisto said, his voice wheezing from exertion.
I heard my apprentice tell him to drink something, but nothing from Sophia. That was fine. All of our differences aside, I could trust her when I needed to.
The seven-tipped spear lifted the point on the side of my shield arm, and I shifted. It slid off of my cover on impact and into the ground. I used the incline to give me enough power to slice through the rest of the branches. They fell to the ground as I stood.
“Badger,” the Blackwood Queen said, her thorn shedding the leftover branches. “Fall in the water, you-”
“No,” I interrupted, keeping my eyes on both her shrinking thorn and the ground to keep my footing. “You lose, you die.”
The ancient Nymph tilted her head in the same puppy-like manner she did before laughing. Holding my shield in front of me, I ran towards her. A copy of myself split off from my body, running beside me on my left side. An illusion. Knowing this tactic, I stepped to the right as quickly as I could to make it harder to tell which of us was real.
I hadn’t heard Sophia cast the spell, but I knew it was her. She was proud of her ability to use magic without incantations, calling it a necessity for any illusionist worth their salt. It was one that had saved my life many times in the past. I welcomed the use of a strategy I hadn’t been a part of for several years now.
The Blackwood Queen was immediately put on the defensive as she looked from me to my twin. Her gaze turned to me, and she thrust her thorn. Instead of taking it head on with my shield and showing that I was the real me, I dodged to the side, getting dangerously close to the raging water. I went completely still, like an illusion that was no longer being controlled by its caster.
My copy raised his sword across his shield to ready a strong slice, and her attention shifted towards it. The thorn stopped threatening me, and I lurched forward just as her weapon destroyed the illusion.
A strangled noise of surprise came from the wooden woman and I slashed downwards. My sword cut her from shoulder to hip, though not as deeply as I had hoped. She had leaned away from me at the last second, showing phenomenal reaction time. Still, the frost from my blade seeped into her body.
The Blackwood Queen bounced backwards, getting distance from me and the river. If she was hoping to be able to hear my footsteps when the next illusion came, then she was out of luck. There was no way anyone was picking that out in all this noise.
I followed her step by step, even though I needed several more due to our height difference. She lashed out with a vine-covered arm, and I bashed it out of my way with the shield. Following up, the butt of her thorn flew at my face, and I ducked out of the way to stab her in the foot.
She lifted her leg, and I tackled her. The Blackwood Queen was caught off balance as I struck her in the abdomen. Grabbing the shield, she raised her thorn like a club. In return, I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her.
Once again I marveled at how light she was despite being made out of wood. I fell backwards, twisting to brace my fall, and her thorn hit the stone ground now that she didn’t have enough room to use it. I landed on her, entangling my legs with one of hers as I raised my sword. She might have been light, but so was I and she had the advantage in leverage due to her size; I wanted to keep her grounded as long as possible.
Flailing, she grazed my arm and shoulder with the thorns on her vines. I raised my sword and brought it down on her head. It hadn’t been a lie that I meant for her to die tonight.
A portal opened up underneath her. Teal and purple flecks of magic outlined it, and I could see our fight from a new angle. We both fell through, and my blade nicked her neck mid-air. She twisted, using her thorn on the ground in an attempt to maneuver me underneath her. I let go of her and pushed away, landing a few feet away on my side.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Two things happened in quick succession. A copy of me stood over me exactly where I had landed and my body had become transparent. If I was remembering Sophia’s spells correctly, this wasn’t Invisibility as per the spell, but a lower version of it that wouldn’t last as long. That made it much easier to cast along with another illusion.
The Blackwood Queen scrambled to her feet as my copy faced her down. It slammed its sword against its shield, creating noise while I stood up. The Minor Illusion was putting in some good work.
I gave a quick glance to the other battle. Cojisto was attempting to defend both Ferrisdae and Moose from the shadowy figure, but it seemed as though most of his punches were phasing through them. Not all of them, I noticed. The mage was still dodging rather fiercely. The spell he had used on himself didn’t fully protect from injuries.
My theory was very quickly proven true as Cojisto landed a Fluid Force fueled punch directly in center mass and the mage went flying backwards into the wall. A portal appeared beside him with a wave of his stone staff and he stepped through it, appearing on the other side of Ferrisdae and Moose. The pugilist looked around before spotting him and jumped over the two of them to continue the fight.
Moose still hadn’t gotten up yet, but Ferrisdae was trying her best. There were a few empty vials on the ground. Some had magical potions in them, but I recognized the shape of some alchemical bottles in there as well. She must have been unsure how much of the magic liquid he could consume before becoming sick. I had to admit that I wouldn’t have known either; Cojisto probably did, but neither she nor I have had to treat a moose before.
Movement from the Blackwood Queen and my copy caught my eye. I moved beside it, looking to catch my opportunity to finish this fight quickly to go and help the others. Now that I was invisible, I had one chance to perform a devastating blow undetected.
My copy raised his shield as the Blackwood Queen thrust her thorn. I was close, and the force of it sent the wind blowing across my cheek. The spear blew through the illusion, which dropped its sword in favor of giving our enemy an impolite gesture before disappearing. With her frustrated surprise, I retracted my shield and placed both hands on my weapon.
I put all of my force into my attack, planting my foot and swinging down with my whole body. It seemed as though the Blackwood Queen sensed the attack as I was making it, but she was too late. My blade cut into her side and didn’t stop until it hit stone.
The top half of the ancient Nymph fell to the ground as the bottom half staggered before following it. There was no sap or anything resembling blood, but she flailed and lashed out in obvious pain.
“Abara!” she screeched.
A portal appeared underneath her, but I was expecting that from the moment she called out. Bright light shone through to give me a quick look at the other side. Two things caught my attention.
Dalsarel was there, unconscious. She had injuries consistent with the kind of damage Cojisto put out. If she wasn’t in the dungeon, then that would make destroying it much easier. Her presence led to many questions, but they weren’t the only ones.
The other side of the portal wasn’t the karst like it was before, but someplace with white stone, ceramic tiles, and open air windows under horseshoe arches. Even though I could only get a brief glimpse, I recognized the architecture. The destination was hundreds of miles away and should have been impossible.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on that.
I grabbed the Blackwood Queen’s thorn, ignoring the small hooks and sharp ridges digging into my hand, and pulled. Whether her grip was simply too tight or she wasn’t thinking straight, she didn’t let go. I thrust my frost-covered blade into her chest before going through the head.
The Blackwood Queen stopped moving. In my combat state I could clearly hear her wooden form fall onto the stone ground over the echoed roars of the river. I tossed the thorn aside and started heading to the other fight. The river was wider here, but I could jump across it back where Sophia was standing.
“No!” the shadow figure shouted, anger and grief evident in his voice. It was clear to me that this was the same man who had apologized to me over the Blackwood Queen’s challenge back in Riverside. There was no mistaking it.
Just as I made it to the river, a portal opened up underneath Ferrisdae and Moose. She wasn’t prepared for it and he only just looked to be coming to his senses. They both fell through with a scream of surprise.
“Give them back!” Cojisto roared after taking a quick look behind him.
The mage said nothing as he jumped towards the closest wall, the pugilist in pursuit. A portal opened up there to reveal a place very similar to the last one I looked through. Cojisto pulled his fist back and let a haymaker fly. One second too late.
His fist collided with the wall the portal had just been on, creating a small crater that cracked the stone around it with rage, adrenaline, and whatever else the Human had going through him. Pulling his undoubtedly broken hand away, he stood there silently.
I jumped across the river and checked where Ferrisdae and Moose had just been seconds before. There wasn’t even dust remaining. Anger and panic welled up inside me, but I tried my best to squash them. They had no place here.
“We gotta go after them,” Cojisto said.
“We can’t from here,” I replied, closing my eyes in an attempt to make the adrenaline disappear faster. It wasn’t useful anymore.
“What do you mean we can’t from here?” he challenged, his happy-go-lucky demeanor nowhere to be seen. “You guys teleported in here, can’t you teleport us there? Lady, Sophia, whatever your name was, can’t you teleport us there?”
“I’m out,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
“What good is an apology when Moose and Ferry just got kidnapped!?” he yelled.
“You need to calm down,” I told him, opening my eyes. “They might not be comfortable, but they’ll probably be safe. At least, for now.”
“You can’t possibly know that, Badger!”
“No, but there’s evidence to support that they need us specifically for a few things regarding CC. They’ll probably be safe.”
Cojisto threw his arms in the air. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
I frowned at him before schooling my expression. It probably shouldn’t have been surprising that Cojisto was capable of panic and anger like this. In my head, he had just been a happy guy with no concept of anything other than travel around and punch monsters. Taking a breath, I gestured for him to follow me across the river. It took a few seconds, but he did.
“Sophia, did you see through the portal?” I asked.
“Yeah, his destination is impossible,” she answered. The Kitsune had picked up the crossbow that had teleported with us and handed it to its owner.
“Where?” Cojisto demanded. He took his weapon and shoved it into his pack. “Thank you. But, where do we need to go?”
Turning, I looked up at the Human. “Do you trust me?” I asked.
He scowled, which was an expression that looked foreign on his bruised face, but nodded. “Yeah, I do.”
“Okay, then please trust that I have my junior and your best friend’s safety in mind.” I said. “You’re not going to like this, but I need you to stick with me for now. This journey will take a few days at least.”
“We can’t teleport there once Sophia’s rested?” he asked, looking at the Kitsune. I could tell that he was trying to moderate his tone now.
“We can teleport close to there, geographically speaking,” she offered.
“The other side of that portal led to the Laroda Jareet Desert,” I explained, stowing away my gear. “Can you grab the remains of the Nymph, Cojisto?”
“I suppose so,” he said. He looked over at the body and the weapon that had fallen with it before headed that way. “Isn’t that the desert that’s got no magic in it? How’d he portal into it if it’s where I’m thinking?”
“That,” I started, pulling out my Sending Stone. “Is the big question. As many of those as there are, this gives us some answers as well.”
“Justisius is there,” Sophia said. “He might be able to do something to help them, but the cult’s plans might go into motion now that that wooden thing is dead.”
“Yes, that’s something I’m worried about,” I sighed.
“Don’t seem so worried to me,” Cojisto noted.
“That’s because panic isn’t going to get us anywhere. Deep down, I’m absolutely livid. No one takes my d-dear rookie away and gets away from it.”
Sophia crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow. “Dear rookie?” she asked. “Are you sure that’s what you were really going to say?”
Instead of giving her the time of day, I ignored her call out on my verbal gaffe and swiped a rune on the Sending Stone. “Sophia, could you please start the ritual to destroy the dungeon?” I requested. “Once I’m done on with the Chief I’ll work on a mana sink that will prevent anyone from remaking the dungeon for a few weeks. That should give us some time, hopefully, to mount a rescue.”
“That’s probably the best course of action,” Sophia replied as she started retrieving things required for the ritual.
“What should I do?” Cojisto asked, holding onto the Blackwood Queen.
I looked the man over. He was still heavily injured. “Sit still and relax. You’re really injured and we don’t want you bleeding out.” Before he had a chance to argue, Brackenhorst answered.
“What do you have for me?” the Chief asked.
“Things that you aren’t going to like,” I answered as Cojisto pouted but did as he was told. “Let’s start with the bad news…”