Time stopped and all was shrouded in black. The dark of night and the shadows dancing in the fire paled by comparison to the darkness that Max saw all around. He was calm, suddenly at ease. He stepped forward. The ropes slid off Max’s ankles and wrists and stayed there, tied at the stake. He took a step forward, his eyes fixed on the axe blade hovering an inch above Anita’s neck. He walked across the clearing with the circle of Dark Mages standing stock still all around. The chanting stuck on a single low resonant tone. He walked towards Anita, several yards away, and arrived there in a single step. His hands held her shoulders, and he slid her out from under the axe. Her eyes were wide open and staring, but she could not see Max. He lifted her up. She was as light as a feather. He threw her over his shoulder. He saw the dark tunnel ahead of him, the dark movement letting him move into the forest, but he couldn’t leave yet, not without his belongings.
As he looked around for his Satchel, he saw the Assassins tied to a stake before the fire, the flaming torch touching a bundle of oil-soaked straw, the flame already spread from the torch to the straw. Had they really been attempting to capture him or had they simply been trying to save their own hides by pleading with the Dark Mages to release them? Somehow Max couldn’t blame them for trying; they were Assassins, and they were only acting in line with their class.
Max spotted his Satchel and saw it on the edge of the Dark Mage circle. He moved towards his equipment, arriving there in an instant. He grabbed his Satchel and Anita’s pouch and spear and looked to make his escape. He glanced over his shoulder at the Assassins. He knew he would hear their screams as the fire took hold. Was it all they deserved? He walked back into the circle of Mages and over to the stake. He untied Debhora. And then he untied Shazera. He kicked the bundle of wood and straw away, took the torch from the Dark Mage and tossed it into the fire. He was about to move away when he thought that he couldn’t leave the Assassins unarmed in the middle of the Dark Mages.
The dark movement started to shudder and shake. Max felt dizzy. Janet appeared on the shoulder. “You can’t hesitate any longer, Max. I can feel the darkness shredding. You are not strong enough to keep it open any longer. You will be lost. You must leave and close the darkness.”
Max started to move away, sliding along the darkness towards the forest. He looked back at the Assassins tied to the stake. He reached into his Satchel and pulled out the Dagger of Poison Blade. He threw it towards the stake. The dagger thudded into the timber at eye level right between the two of them. He reached for another weapon. His hands felt the handle of the wooden dagger. He held it up: highly polished, possibly deadly as a stabbing weapon, but really no match for the Dark Mages with their swords.
>
>
> Max loses Dagger of Poison Blade.
>
>
Max slid further along the darkness, further from the Dark Mage circle. He felt the world falling apart and being pulled in a hundred directions.
Janet’s voice was distant, insistent.
“Leave, Max.”
Max carried Anita a moment longer, traveling a short way until the dark movement threatened to collapse and drag him into the darkness, lost forever. The dark portal he created collapsed, and he was a hundred yards away. Anita’s eyes were suddenly alive, startled and surprised, as she put a hand to the back of her neck. She looked at Max, her lip quivering in fear.
“How did we get here?” she said, looking around, bewildered. “I think I blacked out for a moment.”
Max dragged her by the hand and they ran. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Shazera grabbing the poison-tipped dagger from the post. She slashed at a Dark Mage, cutting his arm so he dropped his longsword. Debhora picked up the sword in a flash and was back to back with Shazera, facing down dozens of Dark Mages.
Max and Anita ran into the woods. “I thought you were going to go back and defend those two snakes,” Anita said.
“I think they can look after themselves,” Max said as he ran.
With the sounds of battle fading behind them, every step taking them further from harm and closer to safety, Max started to smile. He looked at Anita, still holding her hand. She was smiling, too, her eyes streaming tears of joy, relief, and also from the cold wind blowing into them. They ran into the night, downhill, back towards the Salt River.
Anita dropped Max’s hand and led the way, running through the darkness, avoiding every obstacle in their path. She called out for Max to leap when they came to a fallen tree that Max could barely see. Anita’s night vision was superb. Once they were sure they were safe, Max stopped to catch his breath.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“We really need to find Elderon and Jahrod.” Max said. “Maybe Elderon can help us against these Dark Mages.”
Anita nodded. “But I am all out of spells. I need to rest so I can activate my spells. And so do you. We should find somewhere to rest.”
“We should keep going,” Max said.
“I know we need to get away from the Dark Mages, but we need to rest. We can find somewhere defensible and settle for a few hours. It will be difficult for them to find us in the dark. Even their best tracker will struggle to pick up our trail through the forest in the night.”
Max nodded. Rest sure sounded good. He hadn’t had any rest for a long time and had had too many encounters.
“Let’s head back towards the Hinge, and as soon as we find somewhere to stop, we will rest.”
The wind blowing off the Salt River was chill. After so much running, Max had started to warm up, but out in the open in the night and with a stiff breeze coming down the Salt River from the west, Max started to feel cold again. He looked at Anita in her tight leather tunic and fighting skirt. She showed no signs of suffering from the cold. Max drew his tunic tight over his white shirt. He knew he had collected a stack of gold. The first thing he would do when he got to a town was buy a good chunky sweater.
A dark shape appeared on the horizon silhouetted against the Salt River that glittered under the starlight. Max looked up at an old tower. He grabbed Anita’s hand and smiled.
Anita shook her head. “I don’t think we want to rest there.”
“Why not?” Max had gotten used to the idea of rest, and this looked perfect. “It looks like a nice stone tower. There’s a low wall around it. We can easily defend the entrance. Or do you think we will end up being trapped?”
“This is the Salt River fortress of a long-dead Lord,” Anita said. “I feel the forest holding back from these dark walls. The vines and branches fear to grow too close. This place is cursed.”
The closer they got, the more Max could see of the broken walls and the jagged tower. There was some cover here, but if this had ever been a home or a castle, it was hardly more than a pile of crumbling rocks now.
“I think we can rest here without getting trapped,” Max said. “We can see if any Dark Mages approach. Maybe with a bit of luck, we can find a raft and get on the Salt River in the morning.”
“I think it’s a bad idea,” Anita said. “This was a principle fortress in ages gone by. The Lord and Lady betrayed the elves whom they had promised sanctuary in foul weather. They left a party of elves out in the cold and rain when they came asking for sanctuary. The elven party perished. The holders of the fortress were later cursed by an elven Mage to be forever without rest when the wind and rain come down the Salt River.”
A howling wind came down the Salt River from the west bringing freezing rain. It came in a sudden wave and slammed into Max. It soaked his pants and the sleeves of his shirt. Rain dripped from his hair down his face. He wiped the cold rain away.
“I think I’ll put up with any curse to get out of this rain. I’m going to freeze to death if I stay out here. Let’s find some shelter in the old fortress. We can make a small fire. Let’s have a warm brew and something to eat. We can rest together on my Blanket of Comfort, and we will have all our spells back in just a few hours. We can be underway before dawn.” Max took Anita’s hand and looked into her strangely beautiful almond eyes. “Come on, Anita. Let’s get out of this rain.”
Anita nodded reluctantly and let Max lead the way.
The boundary wall of the fortress was soaked by the freezing rain by the time Max got there. The walls were broken and tumbling down. Less a wall now and more a ring of stones piled up. There were gaps in the wall everywhere where gates might once have stood. Max clambered over the pile of stones that must have once been part of the high boundary wall. Once over the remains of the wall, Max saw remnants of a large stone house. Some walls still stood with the remains of a chimney and large fireplace against one. The roof was completely gone, timbers and thatch rotted away long ago. Beyond the ruined house, close to the banks of the Salt River, was the tall, dark tower.
The tower looked sturdy enough, with only one open doorway at ground level. Max headed for the tower and was happy to duck in and get out of the rain.
The ground inside the tower was soft and covered with dry leaves that had blown in from the forest. Anita found the remains of the broken timber door and set it in the doorway. She made a small fire with twigs and leaves and her fire kit from her pouch. As soon as the flames flickered in the small fire, Max felt warm. He took out his Blanket of Comfort and laid it on the ground near the fire. Anita handed him a brew and a hunk of bread. He felt his Health return. He checked his stats.
>
>
> Name: Max Lightfoot
>
> Class: Mage
>
> Level: 4
>
> Health: Full
>
> Strength: 18
>
> Stamina: 17
>
> Agility: 18
>
> Intelligence: 17
>
> Wisdom: 12
>
> Charisma: 16
>
>
Max might have been restored to full Health, but he was exhausted. Although they’d been put to sleep by the Dark Mages’s Soothing Cloud of Sleep, it wasn’t rest, merely unconsciousness. There was nothing soothing about it. It had left him with the worst hangover ever. Anita sat next to him and she put an arm around him.
“You are very brave with the cold,” Anita said. “I don’t feel it at all. We Druids have hot blood. Here, sit next to me, and I will warm you.”
Max felt at ease in Anita’s arms. She was beautiful. He was glad to have her back.
“I thought we’d lost you,” Max said, holding her close.
“I’m glad you came after me,” she said.
Max lay down on the Blanket of Comfort, Anita next to him on her side, her arm over his chest, and her hand on his cheek. She kissed him gently and then lay down.
“Rest now, Max,” Anita said.
Max looked up into the darkness of the tower above them. The stone stairway spiraling up the inner wall of the tower vanished into the dark heights. The wind howled outside, rain splattering in from the gaps in the old door propped up in the doorway. Max looked out through the gaps in the doorway into the darkness beyond. Then he saw movement in the shadows, darkness moving across darkness. A shiver ran down his spine, but not of cold, of fear.