“Absolutely not,” Irse asserted as she crossed her arms across from Taer’inar. Her eyes sent a chill through Taer’inar’s body. “I know you want to help him, but this is too much. He is lost, Taer’inar. We need to accept that and move on.”

“This is about more than just Ithan,” Taer’inar argued. “Kiraan is a dangerous entity. We can’t let him do as he pleases.”

“Those ruins are host to demons even more malevolent than the ones we have already faced,” Irse continued. “How do you expect us to overcome such creatures?”

“Show some backbone,” Dhurik commented. Taer’inar and Irse both looked at the minotaur, who had been silently listening to the two of them quarrel as Taer’inar attempted to explain the situation. “I thought your god championed bravery.”

“This is different,” Irse muttered. “To go there would be foolish and utterly useless. We would certainly die before we could even locate Ithan.”

“Dogboy’s our ally,” Dhurik huffed. “If he’s in trouble, I’m gonna go after him. And I’ll take down anything that gets in my way.”

“Stubborn fool,” Irse mumbled. “Your ego is bigger than your head.”

“Stop it!” Fenvyre cried, surprising Taer’inar. “Lava needs our help. If you don’t want to help us, that’s fine. But don’t tell us we’re fools for wanting to help our friend.” Irse shrunk back at the admonishment from the usually gentle dragonkin.

“I suppose I should accompany you,” Irse mumbled. “My magic might prove useful in your endeavor. Besides… you are right. We cannot allow Kiraan to have his way.” Taer’inar smiled gratefully at her.

“You should stay here,” Taer’inar said gently to Fenvyre. Before she could protest, he held up a hand. “There is a chance that we fail, that we end up having to…” He trailed off as he watched Fenvyre’s eyes fill with fear. “I don’t want you to have to see that.”

“That’s not fair,” Fenvyre muttered. “He was in so much pain. I don’t want that to be the last I see of him.” She shook her head and glared angrily at Taer’inar. “You’d better bring him back, or I’ll never forgive you.” Taer’inar was a bit surprised that she submitted to his request so easily, but he knew she could not bear to witness Ithan’s death‍—should it come to that.

“I’ll bring him home,” Taer’inar promised. He turned back to Dhurik and Bimpnottin. “Are we ready?”

“I’ve been ready since yesterday,” Dhurik grumbled. “You’re the one making us wait.”

“We must make haste!” Bimpnottin shouted. “Evil does not sleep!” He hopped onto Dhurik’s back, and the minotaur growled. “What? You are much faster that I am!” Dhurik shook his head, but the corners of his mouth twitched upward. Taer’inar gathered up the few books that pertained to demons that he had managed to find, put them in his pack, then led the group out of the library. After saying their farewells to Fenvyre, they proceeded to the west, making way for the location that Taer’inar had committed to memory after speaking to Eleana.

It did not take long after exiting the forest for the sickening aura radiating from the west to reach the group. Ahead of them, the plant life began to twist unnaturally‍—tree branches gradually became more angular, sometimes pointing straight down into the ground; the grass withered and its color shifted to a crimson red; and the ground itself began to feel as though they were stepping on flesh rather than dirt and mud. Even the light from the sun seemed to dim as they ventured forth, a reddish hue beginning to set in.

“Be careful,” Irse muttered. “The corruption here is strong. It may make even the earth our enemy.”

“I’ll crush whatever comes our way,” Dhurik assured. “I’m not gonna let a little dirt‍—woah!” The minotaur’s sudden shout caught Taer’inar’s attention, and he turned around. A vine from a nearby tree was wrapped around Dhurik’s neck. “Get‍—ack‍—off!” he yelled as the vine began to lift him into the air. He began trying frantically to rip the vine away as he struggled to breathe.

“Dhurik‍—!” Taer’inar cried as more vines began to encroach on the group. He swiftly pulled out his swords, hacking away at the vines trying to ensnare him with one and hurling the other at the one strangling Dhurik. The blade cut clean through, spraying Dhurik with a black blood-like substance as he fell to the ground coughing. A few blasts of energy from Bimpnottin kept the vines surrounding him at bay while he recovered and stood to fight.

“Thanks for the save,” he said to Taer’inar. “Now what?”

“Do what you do best,” Taer’inar replied with a nervous smirk. Dhurik grinned wide, then began flailing his axe at every vine in sight. Irse began casting warding magic while Taer’inar and Bimpnottin joined the offensive, faint flickers of light beginning to appear around each of them as barriers took shape. Before long the vines retreated, leaving the group in relative peace for the time being. “That’s handy,” Taer’inar noted as Irse concentrated on maintaining her spell.

“It will not do much good against more intelligent foes, I am afraid,” Irse said. “This is only the beginning of our struggles.”

“I’m sure,” Taer’inar muttered. He closed his eyes, trying to picture the map that Eleana had drawn. The place where she had indicated Ithan would be was at least another day’s travel, so the group would need to somehow find a place to rest when the sun set. A difficult task, to be sure, but one that Taer’inar would take great care to accomplish.

On their way, the group encountered all manner of monsters‍—some Taer’inar recognized as twisted forms of ordinary creatures such as rats and wolves, but others seemed to be from a different realm entirely. Luckily, even the most dangerous of these ended up being nothing compared to the demon that the witch had sent after them. Perhaps Kiraan had already devoured the stronger ones. He shuddered as an image of Ithan tearing into a pile of demon corpses flashed through his mind. Please, Ithan… keep fighting.

The sun hung low in the sky before the group began to search for a place to set up camp for the night. They wanted to find a spot where they would not be beset by carnivorous plants or wolves with lashing tentacles or giant flying eyes. They were unable to find any small caves, given that the land on which they traveled was relatively flat. With great hesitation, Taer’inar and Irse agreed that the group would need to simply forgo any natural barriers and double up on magical ones. After the sun had begun to set, the group gathered themselves in a relatively open area, and Taer’inar and Irse cast their respective spells beneath the blood-soaked sky‍—Irse put up warding barriers, and Taer’inar created his protective dome. He modified it such that, ideally, anything outside of the dome would be unable to detect them. He volunteered for the first watch, just to ensure that both his and Irse’s spells held.

“How much further, do you think?” Irse asked as the group sat around the campfire later that evening.

“We should be there by midday tomorrow,” Taer’inar replied. “At our current pace, that is.”

“We could’ve been there tonight,” Dhurik muttered, “but you all are scared of the dark.”

“Dhurik, you can’t even see in the dark,” Bimpnottin rebuked. “Besides, the dark’s nothing to be afraid of‍—”

“It’s what’s in the dark that worries me,” Taer’inar finished as he stared out past his barrier. With a huff, Dhurik crashed down to the ground and turned onto his side to sleep. Bimpnottin and Irse each lay down on their own sides of the area, leaving Taer’inar alone with the dying flames of the campfire. When he was sure his companions were asleep, he muttered a spell, calling forth his beloved Nyctea, who appeared in a cloud of smoke on his forearm. He pressed his face against hers, smiling at the warmth of her feathers. “Go find Ithan,” he whispered to her before sending her on her way. She soared out of the barrier and into the night sky, and soon she was out of sight. Taer’inar closed his eyes and began to meditate, and soon an aerial view of the twisted landscape formed in his mind. The trees began to thin further west, giving way to barren plains. There were a few chasms as well as a river that traveled north to south that would need to be traversed.

He pushed for Nyctea to fly even further west. Soon the plains were spackled with dark stone and rotten wood. Structures that might have once been houses were scattered among the rubble‍—Nyctea now flew over the ruins of Zyr’kal. At the center of the ruins lay a great stone pyramid, stairs leading up from all sides to its apex. He could not make out much of the details of the structure, but he did see a figure moving atop the platform.

Found you.

The figure stopped, and Taer’inar’s sight through Nyctea began to wane. A horrible chuckling echoed in his mind.

Come to me, Taer’inar Volarei.

He broke his mental connection to his owl, fearing that Kiraan would somehow invade his mind through her. An hour later, when it was nearly time for Irse to take her shift, Nyctea arrived back at the camp in one piece, and Taer’inar sent her away to her private sanctum. He returned to his meditation once Irse was awake, but not before warning her that Kiraan knew they were coming.

“I doubt we had the element of surprise in the first place,” Irse shrugged as Taer’inar fell back into his trance.

🙡◊🙣

The monstrous form of Kiraan looms over Taer’inar and his comrades. Black ichor oozes from his body and spreads across the landscape, lashing out at the group as they attempt to defeat him. Amidst the fighting, Taer’inar spies a flicker of light deep within the demon’s chest, penetrating the inky blackness.

“Ithan!” he screams, slashing away at Kiraan’s tendrils of corruption. The light flickers again, and for a moment the shadows recede, revealing beneath the silhouette of an elf, shining against the blackness of Kiraan’s body. It struggles to break free before it is engulfed once more by the darkness. “Come back!” Taer’inar cries as he frantically begins running toward Kiraan, only to be forced back by a wave of force.

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“Keep fighting, Jast’ira,” a voice calls to him. “Stand by his side always, as you did mine.”

🙠◊🙢

Taer’inar broke free from his trance with a jolt, startling his nearby companions. It had been a long time since he last dreamed while he meditated, and this one was the clearest of them all. Jast’ira‍—the goddess of water‍—had been involved somehow in the last confrontation with Kiraan. Another fragment of information that he could add to the puzzle of his past visions. But that was not important now. He knew that Ithan was still fighting, and as long as that was true, Taer’inar would never give up. He would always remain by Ithan’s side.

“Trouble sleeping?” Bimpnottin questioned next to him.

“Just a dream,” Taer’inar replied. He looked up at the sky; the sun had just begun to breach the eastern horizon, which meant it was just about time to set out again. “Looks like the barriers held.”

“I felt something while I was keeping watch,” Irse noted. “We should be ready to fight once we drop the barrier.”

“Understood,” Taer’inar muttered. On his signal, he and Irse each dispelled their respective protections, and to his great lack of surprise, three gnolls leapt out of them from the trees ahead of them.

“God-King is still recovering,” one of the gnolls growled as it advanced toward the group. “You no interfere.”

“Try and stop us,” Dhurik laughed. He swung his axe out toward the leading gnoll, narrowly missing its shoulder as it skidded backward. “That’s what I thought. I’ve dealt with you lot plenty of times before. You’re nothing but a bunch of cowards.” The gnolls all snarled at Dhurik, but they did not move forward.

“We not cowards,” the lead gnoll said. “We fight for God-King.”

“Is that what the witch calls him?” Taer’inar inquired. “What does she want with Kiraan?”

“She say God-King make Averion belong to gnolls,” the gnoll sneered.

“I highly doubt that,” Irse mumbled. “She is just using you as her slaves.”

“We not slaves!” another gnoll shouted. “We warriors! We show you!” At this, all of the gnolls raised their weapons and charged at the group. Bimpnottin quickly blasted two of them away with his magic, while Taer’inar and Dhurik felled the leader.

“Real great warriors,” Dhurik spat. “Now you’re dead.”

“Don’t get cocky,” Taer’inar chided. “There are certain to be more dangers ahead.” As he spoke, though, he wondered why there were so few gnolls here‍—if the witch conspired with Kiraan, it would only make sense to send the entire horde to defend his dwelling while he recovered. What was more, they had yet to encounter a single demon. Hehoughed he should count his blessings; the less monsters they faced now, the better prepared they would be to face Kiraan.

After a few hours of travel, the group came across the series of chasms that Taer’inar had scoped out the night before. The group might have been able to traverse around them, but it would take much longer to make it to their destination. The group ultimately decided that the best course of action would be to cross the chasms using a combination of ropes and magic. Bimpnottin would cross the chasm using his levitation magic, ferrying the rope across. Then, when he reached the other side, he and Taer’inar would tie the rope off to any sturdy rock they could find on either side. The others would need to climb across, a feat Taer’inar was sure he and Dhurik could accomplish but was less certain about Irse.

“Do not underestimate me,” the cleric scolded as Taer’inar voiced his concern. With the plan set, Taer’inar handed one end of a rope to Bimpnottin and sent him on his way while he tied off the other end to a jagged rock just beneath the group. For safe measure, he used a bit of magic to keep the stone around the rope from crumbling when they started to climb across. When the gnome reached the other end of the chasm, he floated gently down to the ground and found a good strong hold to tie his end of the rope around and waited.

Irse, the lightest between the three of them, went first‍—she moved slowly at first, but soon she grew acclimated to the motions as she climbed across the rope. The speed at which she traversed the chasm impressed Taer’inar, and when she made it across, he laughed as she took a bow. Dhurik went next with equal speed and ease, leaving Taer’inar for last. When he had made it roughly a third of the way over the chasm, though, screeching echoes out from the chasm below. Out from it poured a flurry of giant bats, their flight path directed at him. He quickly pulled himself up to a standing position atop the rope, using all of his restraint to keep his balance in the face of certain death. The bats were almost upon him now. Steady… Now! He leapt up and forward across the rope just as the bats would have collided with him, grabbing the rope tight on his way down. At that very moment, he commanded the stone around the end of the rope to recede, and he began falling down toward the opposite wall of the chasm while Bimpnottin and Irse cast spells to take care of the bats above. Despite his best effort to connect with the wall with proper technique, the force from doing so sent a wave of numbness up from his feet through to the rest of his body. He managed to hold on to the rope, houghh, and he began quickly climbing up it, only stopping when he saw Dhurik reach his hand over the cliffside to pull him up.

“That was an ordeal,” he gasped as he shook his arms, trying to alleviate the lingering numbness. “Are we ready to go again?”

“It worked quite well until the last part,” Irse replied. “How many more chasms did you say we needed to cross?”

“Two,” Taer’inar said. “And then we’ll need to cross a river.”

“Wonderful,” Irse sighed. “Who knows what waits for us in there.”

“No time for worrying about that now,” Taer’inar continued. “Let’s get going.” Bimpnottin untied the rope from the rock and gathered it up before joining the group.

“Waste not!” he exclaimed, holding the pile of rope above his head like a trophy.

Crossing the other two chasms did not end up being as treacherous as the first. Taer’inar was cautiously optimistic that they would be able to ford the river with relative ease. Alas, the river was much wider and deeper than he had anticipated. The murky waters could be hiding any number of things below, but that could not dissuade him from his mission. The river’s flow was gentle, at least.

“Shall we?” he said as he began to wade into the water. The riverbank dropped off much faster than he expected, and he dropped beneath the surface without warning. He brought himself back up and gasped for breath before turning around toward his companions.

“I don’t need to teach you how to swim now, do I?” Dhurik groaned. Taer’inar splashed some of the water at the minotaur, who then leapt into the river ahead of him and submerged him once more. Bimpnottin and Irse followed behind the two of them, carefully making their way through the dark waters. Things seemed to be going well, until Taer’inar felt a tug at his leg. He kicked at it, hoping it was just a bit of harmless plant life that had inexplicably become wrapped around his boot, but then he was pulled once more underwater. He quickly unsheathed one of his swords, trying to cut into whatever it was that was pulling him down without cutting himself. He thrashed around beneath the surface to alert his friends to his location, and soon something else began pulling him upward. Whatever gripped his leg held tightly, though, threatening to rip it from his body with the force. A blast of heat narrowly passed his leg‍—accompanied by garbled shouting from Bimpnottin‍—and then he was thrust upward toward the surface, free of whatever held him there. He swam hurriedly back toward the riverbank with his companions, and when they reached the shore and escaped the water, he turned back to face the river just as a large tentacled aberration emerged from its depths.

“My master bids you welcome,” a voice echoed in Taer’inar’s mind. “How fortuitous for you that you get to witness his great revival.”

“Who is that?” Dhurik questioned, jerking his head around to search for the voice’s source.

“I think it’s that thing,” Bimpnottin responded as he pointed at the creature. “Let’s kill it!”

“Quite the rambunctious little speck,” the voice boomed.

“Speck?!” Bimpnottin leapt into the air at the word. “I’ll show you a speck, you… you…!”

“Let us pass, monster,” Taer’inar interrupted, “or face death.”

“You think you can threaten me? You will pay for your insolence.” It lashed out a tentacle at Taer’inar, grabbing his leg once more and pulling him back toward the river. His skin burned‍—something foul was beginning to manifest beneath the tentacle’s tightening grip.

“Away with you, fishface!” Bimpnottin cried as he fired a blast at the monster’s head. It shook it off and continued pulling Taer’inar toward its gaping maw. Taer’inar hacked desperately at the tough scaly exterior of the tentacle to no avail. He was in no position to concentrate on his magic, either. Luckily, Dhurik’s axe crashed down and severed the tentacle just before it could drag Taer’inar beneath the surface of the river. A roar of anguish crashed through his mind as the creature tried to assail Dhurik with another tentacle, only to lose that one, as well.

“Despicable mortals,” the creature bellowed, “my master shall reward me well for your demise.” Dhurik’s body froze, still holding his axe above his head, ready to strike. Then, to Taer’inar’s horror, the minotaur turned and finished his swing, now at Taer’inar instead of the creature. Taer’inar rolled out of the way, but it was all he could do before the creature’s tentacles came for him again. “Die, die!” the monster laughed.

“Dhurik, what are you doing?!” Taer’inar shouted. “Snap out of it!” The minotaur stopped his advance on Taer’inar now that he was secured again and went after Irse. He heard her cry out just as he was pulled once again beneath the surface of the river. In a desperate attempt to free himself and save his friends, he stabbed furiously and blindly into the water. Another scream in his mind. His sword began to sink into something‍—he had hit his mark. He forced the sword deeper into the monster’s flesh, and the tentacles around him loosened their grip as the screaming faded. Taer’inar rejoiced as he swam back up to the surface of the water. Irse and Bimpnottin had managed to fend Dhurik off long enough for the creature’s mind control to dissipate.

“Sorry,” Dhurik muttered as Taer’inar pulled himself out of the water, “I don’t know what came over me.”

“It’s fine,” Taer’inar assured. “We’re all okay‍—” He bowed down in pain as his skin began to burn again. He raised his hand in front of him; to his horror, it was starting to become translucent, his bones and veins showing beneath. “What‍—” he gasped. He could no longer breathe.

“Get him back in the water,” Irse commanded as Taer’inar writhed on the ground. Dhurik quickly picked him up and tossed him into the water with the deceased aberration, and he was able to breathe again. His entire body had become translucent and slimy, transformed by the creature’s foul touch, no doubt.

“Ew, you’re all… veiny,” Bimpnottin stated when Taer’inar returned to the surface.

“How long is this going to last?” Taer’inar questioned.

“Not long,” Irse replied. “You happen to know a good cleric.” She chanted something, then touched Taer’inar on the shoulder. Within moments, the slime on his skin dissolved and his skin returned to its natural opaque paleness. He jumped out of the water once more and took a deep breath of air, happy to not be trapped as a slimy water-breathing monstrosity for the rest of his days.

“You know we’re still on the wrong side of the river, right?” Bimpnottin commented. Taer’inar groaned just before Dhurik pushed him back into the water, and the four of them crossed the river without any further issue.

“What’s next?” Dhurik asked as the group began traveling west past the river. Taer’inar looked out over the horizon and saw structures in the distance; the ruins of Zyr’kal were close now.

“First, we get to that city,” Taer’inar said as he pointed out toward the ruins. “Then, we get to the pyramid and save Ithan.”

❧

Kiraan sneered as he listened to the whisperings of his servants. The noble heroes had destroyed his aberration. They rejoiced as they made their way through their trials with few injuries. They were formidable, that much Kiraan would admit. But still, they were fools for coming here. Fools for believing they could make any difference in this cruel world.

“Keep believing,” he snickered. “Let your belief drive you ever closer.” He snapped his fingers, and his shadows began to do their work, carving intricate designs into the stone platform on which he stood. “Your demise shall be my ultimate triumph, Taer’inar Volarei.”