A sense of dread filled me. If Dirk was hurt and returning to us, how bad could things get in the coming minutes?

Surging forward, I felt a rage flowing through me. I was scared and angry. Fears of my boys getting killed flooded through my mind like they had the first few days after we arrived in this world. All those nights I tossed and turned in the goblin camp, wondering how I was going to protect them awoke in my mind like a dam breaking.

The golem closest to me fell victim to that rage.

I swung harder than I had been in all those other attacks. The first swing cut through the shoulder joint of the golem, and a few twists and swings later its center rock was crushed beneath Light Drinker.

While I had only planned on destroying two of them, I moved to the third and crushed it in moments as I used every ounce of power in my body to land blow after blow on it. Instead of requiring six or more strikes to its core, four now turned it into a pile of rubble.

I descended upon the last one and hacked off its arms and then focused my anger on the center mass. As I swung I heard noises from Dirk but I was lost in each swing. The first strike drove deep, and a massive crack appeared across that center mass. The second swing struck true and made that crack split apart. As my sword fell for that third attack, my sword was knocked to the side and slammed into the ground next to the golem’s body.

I glanced over at Turk and saw his bow pointed at me. I had not noticed his arrow until it struck my sword and deflected the path of my swing.

“DAD, SNAP OUT OF IT!”

I glanced up at Dirk and saw he was still running toward me. His left arm looked like it was broken in a few places.

He was yelling, and I had zoned out in my rage.

“Don’t finish it off! They explode when all of them are destroyed!” Dirk gasped as he finished making his way to us. Taking vast breaths of air, he was breathing hard and I watched as Vreek strode toward him with a full heart.

“Eat this!” Vreek ordered as he held out the heart to DIrk.

“It’s a whole heart,” protested Dirk as he glanced at it. “It is too much!”

“Not for the injury you have,” Vreek explained. “You cannot wait, and you need to eat this all. It will take too long for a quarter or a half a heart to fix what you have done to your arm. Now stop arguing and listen to me!’

Dirk glanced at me, and I motioned for him to take it as I backed away from the golem. It was barely thrashing around on one leg.

Dirk took the heart and winced as the broken one hung from his shoulder. I could see at least three bad breaks, one where his bone was sticking out of his forearm.

He devoured the heart as Vreek came over and started examining his arm.

“This is going to hurt, but I have to do it.”

Dirk grimaced, but I could not imagine it hurting any more than it had when he ran here with it. I had no idea how far he had gone but each step of that journey must have been agony.

Vreek took Dirk’s arm in his hand and motioned to me.

“Come hold his shoulder and keep him still.”

Putting my sword up, I moved behind Dirk and wrapped one arm around his torso, and used my body to brace his while holding my left hand in his armpit to provide a solid base. I felt him gasp as I lifted up his shoulder as Vreek held it.

Vreek started to feel the upper arm and located the break, and gave a small tug. I felt the arm extend a little, and Dirk’s whole chest shook.

“That one should heal in a moment. I will give you a minute before I start the worst part. You can see your body trying to close the skin, and we need to get the bone back in place in your forearm.”

Vreek held the wrist and the elbow and tsked his tongue at Dirk.

“Tell me how many did you kill to find out they do this thing you call explode.”

“I ran into two when I found an area that had no shadows. So I decided just to end them and….. HOLY MOTHER FRICKIN ELF AND DWARF BALLS!”

Dirk was screaming and cursing as Vreek pulled his wrist and elbow apart while rotating them. The bone jutting out had slid back into the skin and then Vreek had moved his hand over it and used his hand to push the bones back together.

“GIANT DRAGON PECKERS! YOUR MOTHER WAS AN ELF, YOU TINY GREEN PRICK!”

Vreek ignored Dirk as he made sure both bones were now where they belonged. It was taking everything in my power to hold DIrk in place as he tried to thrash against me and move his arm.

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“Settle down, son, he had to do that, and you know it.”

Dirk groaned and finally stopped cursing as he turned his head and realized I was right there.

“Dad, that hurt worse than the rocks that crushed it.”

I saw the look of pain on Dirk's face, but I also saw that his skin had closed up and there was no more blood. The power of the heart was doing its job, especially since they were the ones from the people we had killed inside here.

“Looks like it is healing. Now tell me, how far did you go?”

Dirk started to move his arm a little bit, and then he heard Vreek tsk at him and held it still.

“I was probably another mile or two from you all. I think we are close to the portal, but after I got hurt, I could not shadow jump anymore. There is a pack a bit back there I had to run through, but they are way out there.”

"You couldn't shadow jump once you got hurt?"

Dirk looked at Turk and nodded.

"It was weird when I tried. I think maybe it was because of how bad the pain was. I couldn't get the energy I normally feel flow throw my whole body to extend down my shoulder and arm. I think that is why my skill didn't work."

"I guess that is good to know for future battles," Vreek interrupted. "If you get hurt you will be unable to get away like you usually do."

Dirk's eyes went wide, and he nodded. He had not thought of that point yet.

“Why do you think you are close to the portal?” Turk asked as he gave a small cough to get Dirk's attention.

“The packs start increasing in numbers. I actually found two dead ends. The packs before I got hurt had six or seven of them. They were spread out just enough for me to dodge them, but with all of us, we will have to fight.”

Turk nodded and moved to inspect one of the piles of rocks left over from the golem we had killed.

“So, eight hearts left?” Dirk asked with a sigh.

I nodded that he was correct.

“Sorry. I got a little carried away. I know I messed up.”

I put my hand on his good shoulder and squeezed it.

“We all knew what you did. One day you will learn to be less like me and think before rushing off. Until then, we will just have to give you a hard time.”

I saw Dirk’s face as he looked at me and realized there was more behind what he was showing.

“I was scared,” Dirk suddenly blurted out. “I wasn’t sure if I would make it back… I was afraid I would die.”

I pulled Dirk in and hugged him as I felt him wrap his arms around me.

“I don’t want to lose you or Turk,” he whispered. “I’m sorry, Dad.”

I hugged him and just rubbed his back a little. I do not know what I would have done had something happened to Dirk. I started wondering if this was all worth it. I knew we needed to get stronger but at what cost? Losing them was not worth trying to find items in the labyrinth.

“You are fine, son. Just use that brain and stay closer next time. No more creating trains like back in the old EQ days.”

Dirk laughed as I hugged him and nodded.

“Those were some epic trains, though,” he declared proudly.

“Depends on what side you were on,” I joked.

After we broke the embrace, I glanced at Turk and Vreek, who were watching us. Turk was smiling, and I knew he would love on his brother in his own way in a bit. Vreek had that look of knowing he was missing the personal connection the boys and I shared. Anytime we had one of these moments, I could see the longing for it across his whole body and face.

“Alright, how is your arm?”

Dirk flexed it a little and moved it around in a circle.

“Feels like it is probably eighty percent or better. It should be good in a few more minutes. Since you are stronger, I’ll just stay back and let you do all the work,” he teased.

“Show us the way through this canyon, and let’s get to the portal. I’m ready to try the next boss and decide what to do after it. I think our time here is almost done.”

Dirk started to say something, but he suddenly closed his mouth and nodded. He stretched his arm a few more times as he moved to the front of the canyon.

“Let’s go. There are a few small groups we can easily get through. I think we only have three or four miles until we are at the portal.”

Dirk had been pretty close on how far away we were from the portal. He had shown us the two dead ends that he had found and navigated us through the canyon. The larger groups were difficult because there were six or seven of them, and the walls were closer. Even though it took a few more swings of my sword since I had lost the rage and anger inside me, we managed to immobilize the ones we needed to and destroyed about four that blocked our way.

When we came to the canyon's dead-end area, it opened in a thirty-foot wide section with the orange portal glowing brightly in the center of it.

“Is it just me, or is that orange a bit darker than usual?” Turk asked.

“It does look darker and is almost humming,” Vreek commented as he walked around the portal.

“Everyone eats a full heart. We are not taking any chances.”

“You sure?” Turk asked as Vreek started pulling hearts out from the pouch we had them stored in.

“I think this is our last fight. Something tells me this boss is going to be harder than we imagine. It takes me multiple strikes to kill one of these common golems when I hit them in the same spot each time. Dirk can barely damage them, and Vreek cannot do anything against them.” I paused and mimicked Turk shooting his bow. “Even your attacks do nothing against these golems we have faced. If you are right about how much harder this labyrinth will be, I don’t see how we can keep going. Maybe if we had a full party of ten goblins and orcs and someone that could heal, but we don’t.”

Turk nodded and reluctantly took the heart that Vreek offered him.

“I hate that you are probably right. I just had hoped we could make it further than we have.”

Vreek started laughing and shook his head.

“You act like we have not accomplished something great,” Vreek declared as he pointed at all of us. “You seem to keep forgetting we are in the labyrinth. The Labyrinth! And now we stand outside a portal that will lead us to a boss that might kill us or give us something no orc has dreamed of in countless generations. So stop whining like a female elf, and let's defeat this boss!”

Dirk started laughing, and we all could not help but join in. I knew Vreek was right.

“Let’s go see what this place has in store for us!”