As the distance between us and the coast grew, the featureless hills and natural stone formations of the tundra finally gave way, revealing what appeared to be a naturally formed canyon. Just as we noticed the concentration of orcs beginning to increase again, they seemed to become absent entirely.
We knew something wasn’t right but also expected such circumstances, so we made our way into the canyon. After a while of exploring the area, Dash let loose a shriek, drawing our attention to an opening in the canyon wall. Within, we discovered a large chasm and something emitting a dim light off in the distance. As we drew closer, we could make out the shape of something unnatural.
The moment Lady Darkrose saw the structure, she fell to her knees and stared at the building as if it held some great significance to her. I studied the formation: It appeared as if it was embedded within the stone walls of the cave and looked like it had been cut from a single jewel. When Lady Darkrose snapped out of her stupor, she explained that she knew this formation had something to do with her past, but also she thought she could feel the presence of the only soul she remembered trusting.
Upon approaching the crystalline form, we could make out the edges of a doorway; we pushed on them and they swung open, revealing an entire great hall constructed in the same manor. Within were dozens of orcs and a throne upon a raised altar at the back of the chamber. Sitting upon the throne was a hooded figure brandishing a gauntlet that gave off the same aura as Lady Darkrose.
Lady Darkrose quickly informed me that this was not the entity that she trusted, but the gauntlet that they wielded was hers. Just then, a booming voice thundered across the silent space. Once again, I did not recognize the language spoken, but it sounded much better when Lady Darkrose spoke using the tongue. She aggressively shouted back across the massive interior, the echo of her voice demanding the attention of everything within. She drew her weapon, so I followed her cue and drew mine as well.
The robed figure finally stood and immediately the crowd of orcs that had been standing motionless all turned toward us. It was abundantly clear that these orcs were undead. Most of them appeared to be mummified, and others were in various states of decay. The battle began like any other but the tides quickly changed. The necromancer, observing the battle, lifted the hand equipped with Lady Darkrose’s artefact and let loose a destructive beam of energy. The energy felt wrong; it felt corrupted as the beam incinerated several zombies.
Lady Darkrose shouted at me to flee, so we quickly slipped back out the entranceway we had just entered. As we rounded the doorway, another annihilating energy beam ripped through the doorway, melting the stone cave wall and crystalizing it like the great hall. We attempted to flee the chasm and make our way back to the adjoining canyon.
As we neared the exit, a flash of blue light blocked our path. Standing before us was the warlock we had been looking for: the necromancer. He raised his weapon again, and I struck. Well I attempted to strike, but an invisible force deflected my attack. He fired his weapon at Lady Darkrose, evaporating a large portion of her flesh. She collapsed and I went into a blind rage. I started attacking the motherfucker with everything I had, but to no avail. Dash savagely bit and clawed at the evil-incarnate, but again the necromancer had activated some sort of barrier magic. I felt the now familiar aura of the corrupted energy beam preparing to fire again as the evil wizard raised his stolen weapon one more time; instead of aiming it at me, he had set his sights on Dash. I immediately threw myself into the path of the weapon and I was enveloped in light. I heard the unfamiliar voice of a woman speaking elvish. She told me to run. As the light faded around me, I noticed I was now equipped with an ornate kite shield. It was glowing from the still dissipating magical energies of the attack it had just deflected. Before I could make any sense of my situation, the voice spoke again many times louder than it had previously, “RUN YOU STUPID IDIOT!!!!”. Glancing at what remained of Lady Darkrose’s lifeless face told me everything I needed to know, So I heeded. The mysterious shield on my arm transformed into a cloak, which pushed and shoved me and Dash toward the exit, assisting us in escaping.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
As Dash and I ran away, I felt a powerful surge of what felt like Lady Darkrose’s pure essence. I prayed that she had returned to the sky, and I anguished at the idea of the necromancer using her body for his sick ventures.
I was not pursued; at least I don’t think I was. After a while of running, my senses began returning to me, so I spoke aloud in elven “Who are you?”
The same feminine voice that had told me to run spoke again “I am Luseal, your cloak, your pendant, and your shield.” You’ve heard of a singing-sword before (a sword with the ability to communicate with people). Well Luseal was a singing-shield. She explained that when I attempted to selflessly give my life while rushing to save Dash, it gave her enough soul-energy to regain her true form. She spoke of Lucretcia, her sister sword, though not a singing sword; together, they would allow Luseal to take on a limited humanoid form.
I couldn’t give a shit about some bloody stupid elven antique because I’d never be able to share any of it with Lady Darkrose again. I went into my first self-imposed exile (if you don’t count the days I spent in the wyvern's nest). There was no way that I could return home for a second time after losing my travel companion and personal family friend.
I spent a few months hunting orcs with Dash in the tundra. During my time there, I noticed the highest concentration of orcs was to the far north of the continent. Not only that, but I also spotted some orcs behaving very differently from their mindless counterparts. They wore crudely crafted armour and constructed settlements. I got the feeling that there was something that they were protecting, but the hoards of mindless orcs prevented me from reaching the heart of their territory.
I had spent too much time away and had run out of rations as I had vastly overestimated the quantity of anvils I would encounter on my travels. I finally did the unthinkable and attempted smithing upon a large flat stone. I drew my magical hammer from its ring form and brought it down on the stone; nothing happened. I tried hunting as I headed back west, but the orcs had practically scavenged the entire continent bare.
The next time I saw the smart orcs, I followed them. They led me to their outpost where I could smell and hear the sounds of a forge and anvil. I waited for nightfall and quietly made my way to the orcish workshop, held Dash in my arms and struck the anvil with my hammer.
The first thing I noticed upon entering the forge was that it was dark. I had forgotten that if I opened a portal at night then it would be dark in my pocket-dimension. So I gathered a few torches from our supply pile, and a flint-tool from my workbench. I ignited a torch and mounted it in the nearest torch bracket. The moment I could see my workshop clearly, my eyes filled with tears, and I broke down completely. The first thing I noticed was Lady Darkrose’s painting: a colourful rendition of a Pegasus. Then I saw that the experiment we had performed had yielded results.
This was when my real isolation began. I remained within my workshop for months and spent most of my time sleeping. In my slumber I found peace where I would have wonderfully blissful dreams. Dash and I slowly dwindled down the remaining food within the limited storage space. I wasn’t completely unproductive during this time; I made improvements to my workshop. The structure was in relatively good condition, but the bellows had returned to their previous configuration. The hole I had dug outside was still there, so I did a little landscaping as well. Dash built a nest from scrap materials, but he would spend most of his nap time cuddled into me and wrapped in Luseal’s cloak form.
As the weeks turned into months, we ran out of torches and oil. I would light the area using my magical equipment, but it yielded little benefit. Luseal would also emit light on occasion but she admitted that it required constant effort. Finally, as our food supplies were down to only a few more days, Dash discovered his ability to produce intense white light.
I knew I could not stay here any longer. I had to return to the knight’s outpost and debrief the knight commander, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it knowing what would follow. It was Luseal who finally convinced me to return to civilization and to break the bad news to my parents. But first, I would need to get out of this encampment of smart (but sleeping) orcs.