Gertrude, as I had taken to thinking of the past version of my aunt, led us to an armory, where they geared up. Interestingly, it resembled the armor that the future gargoyle versions of Ebrill and Kordelia wore, although with more layers of clothing. Unfortunate for my eyes, but probably good for their health. The large woman, Yenifer, took up a spot at the door to keep watch while the men gathered weapons.

“Avalon,” I said to myself, then met Ebrill’s gaze as she fastened a sword belt around my waist. “Not the same as King Arthur and all that?”

She frowned. “Never heard of any King Arthur. The current ruler of nearby lands is Emrys Wledig, also known as Ambrosius Aurelianus.”

The name didn’t ring a bell, but I imagined that, with the link to magic and the Welsh connection, this had to be the same as the legend of Arthur. Maybe he hadn’t come along yet, or maybe that was all bullshit.

“We don’t answer to them, though,” Aerona said, apparently having overheard. “Too many problems of our own, as you might have noticed.”

Nodding, I chuckled. “Indeed.”

“Let’s get you a robe, at least, so you don’t look so out of place,” Ebrill said, guiding me to the corner where several robes hung.

I picked out a brown one, very standard and not out of place. “It’ll do.”

“This is so exciting!” Ebrill said, eyes on mine, hand taking mine to hold it between hers. She didn’t seem to care about the robe one bit. “I still can’t believe you were real, I mean, those other times you showed up… all in preparation for this moment.”

“I’m still not sure I believe it myself.” Leaning in and lowering my voice, I added, “What if I told you in the future, you… I mean, you and I are fighting another war, like this?”

“I would say that sounds like exactly what’s supposed to happen, right?” She laughed. “If they get to the Liahona now, we’re all doomed. But you’re going to take it from here, expel their forces, then rally us so we can fight anew.”

“Right.” I pursed my lips, not sure that any of this made me feel comfortable. While I had recently learned new magic spells, me being in charge of some incredibly powerful magical artifact and being the one to use it to fight off some evil army, or whatever would be left of them? “So, what Rianne was saying…” I froze, not sure if I should voice it out loud. Essentially, what we were about to attempt to pull off would mean the end of magic on Earth, at least as these people knew it. We would be ushering in the age of men, a time when nobody believed in magic.

Legends would be born, myths of a magical land where Arthur would go off to in his final days. Fairy tales, basically.

Would any of it exist? Based on the time I came from, the answer was yes, because I had been born with some form of magic. Then again, maybe my birth or something to do with when the Liahona was to return had ushered in some return of this magic? Could the Powers That Be have known this was coming, and as each day approached they grew stronger?

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

If so, this trip to the heart of the mountain was only the beginning of my journey. At least I would have this woman at my side, and in her gargoyle form no less.

She was staring at me with a quizzical look, but when she realized my mind was back with her, she smiled. “There you are. Is everything as it should be?”

I nodded. “Worried, is all.”

“The road ahead will be dark, perilous…” She pulled me close and kissed me on the cheek. “And while I’m glad to have you here to protect me, I’m not exactly defenseless, I should let you know.”

My grin was enough to make her move in for another kiss. This time, her smooth lips pressed against mine.

We were about to make a push for some location that sounded dangerous, and in theory we could get seriously hurt along the way. For some reason, it never even crossed my mind that I might die until later. Maybe it was the distraction caused by such beauty around me.

And that only got worse. Or… better?

The door opened, and two more female elves entered. One, I instantly recognized as Kordelia. The other was a stranger. Behind them came several others, a mix of male and female.

I nodded at Kordelia, who noticed but pointedly ignored me. Odd.

“If everyone’s ready,” Rianne said, taking up a position in the center of the room, “let us begin.”

Her eyes held a sorrow that didn’t make sense, except that I knew what was coming and assumed she did, too. This land, if it was really Avalon, was about to vanish from the Earth. This much was confirmed as Rianne briefed the newcomers, indicating me as the one to take the Liahona from this world.

“Him?” Kordelia asked, skeptical. The other one, who I now could better see, wasn’t bad to look at in the slightest. The warrior of the group, I guessed by her broad shoulders and the two axes hanging from her belt.

“You can’t sense it, but his magic is strong,” Rianne said.

“Does that explain the clothes?”

I was about to defend myself but Rianne laughed. “Oh, Kordelia, you’ll understand much sooner than you realize.”

That earned a confused look from the latter. Considering her tough demeanor even next to the warrior lady, it was a kind of fun look on her.

“There’s no simply waking up from this.” Rianne faced me, eyes heavy with sorrow. “This is the only way, I know that. But promise me you will find us, that you will do what is right.”

“I promise.”

With that, she placed a hand on her chest. Blue light appeared there, glowing brighter as it formed a sphere until it was as large as a balled fist. She took the light, held it as the glow faded to what looked like a ball of metal, and then held it out to me.

“I offer you the Liahona, so that it might guide you to us when the time is right.”

I took it, nodding, feeling the light metal in my hands. “What now?”

Rianne turned to her fellow ladies. “We get you to the mountain’s heart, where we will wait to defend the key to Avalon. The land will call upon us when it is needed most.”

“Yenifer,” Rianne said, giving her a pleasant nod. “It’s an honor to have you fighting for us, as always.”

“Thank you, high priestess,” the large woman with the axes replied.

“We’ll find Irla on the way,” Aerona said. “She was out on a scouting mission.”

“You will need her,” Rianne said.

Aerona nodded in understanding.

“If that’s all, then, you should be off. The time is at hand.”

As if on cue, a gust of wind blew through the cracks of the structure. There was no doubt that wind spelled danger. As the ladies and the two other men in the room had already gone to the door, throwing it open and charging outside, I followed. Before exiting, though, I turned to the familiar sound of chanting.

There was Rianne, arms spread and robes fluttering against her body as wind pushed around her, purple and blue magic flowing like streams of light as it lifted her off the ground.

“Out, now!” Ebrill shouted as she grabbed me and pulled me with her.

As soon as we exited, the place exploded outward. Rianne rose into the sky, and the wood, along with her streaming light, shot out to target what I now saw were flying beasts moving in for the attack.

Whatever power had been keeping the enemy armies at bay was now gone—the Liahona, I realized. If I failed, all of the sacrifice that was about to happen would be for nothing.