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Description
Donovan’s Ending

Irwin felt the girl’s fingers dig into his arm as they all ascended the stairs toward Abremelin’s chambers. She clung to him as if she had known him for a lifetime. Irwin’s head swam. He felt more different than he ever had before. Electricity seemed to emanate from her hand up into Irwin’s heart via his stomach. He wasn’t sure if this was natural, or something magical from within the faerie princess herself. Irwin looked at Shaudawn, who simply nodded and smiled. This didn’t help Irwin figure the nature of the sensation much, but at least if the sage was smiling, it couldn’t be all bad.

The young boy patted the girl’s hand, and she eased a little on the grip. She gave him an apologetic look and began to remove her hand. But, to the surprise of them both, Irwin reached up and clasped her reassuringly. Shylleah kept her hand on Irwin’s arm, but was a bit more mindful to keep the blood flowing to his fingers.

“Okay, I don’t get it,” Reginald whispered to Shaudawn. “How is it that the whole thing with him falling in love with Liadan seemed to just not work, but here he is with this faerie girl and they just cling to each other like gorgeous on goat?”

“Love doesn’t seem to have an absolute logic,” Shaudawn replied. “I really can’t tell you why some people work and some don’t. But there is one thing I suspect.” Reggie inched closer to hear the soft-spoken words.

“Notice that when Irwin was falling in love with Liadan, he expected her to make him happy. But the road to manhood is something one has to discover for himself. Irwin has come a long way in a very short time—even near the point of death once. But notice that he did something here for Shylleah—not because it made him happy, but simply because it was the right thing for him to do. And likewise, Shylleah could have run and hid. But she, instead, chose to aid Irwin against Abremelin. It’s hard to say, but maybe there’s something to that.”

Liadan, in the meantime, took a closer look at her father. It had indeed been a long time since she had seen her father, but she knew he wasn’t that skinny.

“Perhaps you should find your way down the stairs,” she told him in a hushed tone. “Wait for us at the gate at the bottom. You should be safe enough there until we can get you. And if something goes horribly wrong, you can run for the safety of the woods.”

“I’ve been away from you too long, my dear,” Garin whispered his reply. “My heart couldn’t handle another departure, especially when you tell me you are going to face that wizard. I would rather die at your side than leave you, though I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

Liadan fought back another wave of tears. How many cold and lonely nights had she dreamed of him saying those exact words? But now that she had finally found him, her fear of him coming to harm again was almost too much.

“You can’t even hold a sword or pull a bow, father,” she argued. “I really hate to say this, but you’d only end up being more of a liability to us than an asset.” Garin’s own eyes began to water. He remembered the little girl he left behind one fateful day who would always run into his arms after a trip to the Northern Village to hear what adventure he had to tell. How the years must have calloused her. He saw right through his daughter’s argument and embraced her tightly again.

“You do not need to worry about me anymore,” he cooed into her ear as if he were telling a bedtime story once more. “I’ll be alright, my daughter.” Liadan sniffed. She pushed him back. It was as if she could read his mind; as if she were that innocent girl once more. But she shook her head. She’d never forgive herself if something happened to him.

Liadan started as Shaudawn placed a hand on both her shoulder and Garin’s. The seer’s cloak was so dark, it made him almost invisible—except for the odd head poking out of it.

“Huntress of the wood,” he addressed her. “Do not fret over the path your father wants to take with you. We never know what Fate has in store for us, even when we think we are sending our loved ones toward protection. All we have is the short time with those we care about and what we do with that time. Far better is it to be together than apart.” A little twinkle glimmered in Shaudawn’s eye. Liadan couldn’t figure if it was a reflection of Irwin’s magic sword, or if the spark originated deep within the sage himself.

“Besides,” he grinned, “no one else here knows how to pick locks.”

Liadan’s eyes went big as Garin shrugged sheepishly.

       *          *          *

It was like looking at a tremendous anthill. Tiny little dots seemed to race everywhere in panic as the huge silhouette of a giant flying lizard glided over them. Gowen surveyed the formations. His knightly training had included estimating soldiers in formation. He didn’t like what he saw.

“Brenda!” Gowen shouted over the rushing roar of wind and dragon. He couldn’t figure out just how a weightless stick like the centuries-old man could not be blown off the beast.

“Thou canst calleth me Phil,” he replied.

“Phil,” Gowen began again. “We’ve got to do something about this army. By my estimate, there’s got to be hundreds of thousands of warriors down there.”

Phil glanced over the side nonchalantly. “Forsooth!” Phil exclaimed. “Methinks we should do something to remedy the inequity beneath. Terrance… Sick ‘em!”

“Wait! Phil! No!” Gowen gripped Phil’s paper-thin waste tight, praying that he wasn’t about to snap the man in half. The dragon, as if reading his driver’s mind, swooped low squirting flame and smoke. Any discipline the dark elves might have had was broken as they all scattered in every possible direction.

“Black and blue, should be you

Crunchy crispy minion

But hurt you not; I’ve not forgot

Your thoughts are not your opinion”

Gowen was noticing that despite all of the terror and fire, not one of the elves were actually being harmed by Terrance. The dragon was like a big dog running among chickens, delighting in the mayhem but never crossing his mind that he really wanted to do any harm.

“Phil! See if you can get as many of them cornered as you can. We have to get them to drop their weapons too, if possible.”

“Not a problem!” Phil shouted over his shoulder. And with that, Terrance gave such a roar, Gowen could see the dark elves turn white—or at least a shade of gray—with fear, throw their weapons to the ground, and run. With unbelievable grace and precision, Terrance wheeled in the sky. And like sheep, the elves were now running toward the base of the cliffs near the sea.

“That’s it!” laughed Gowen. Soon thousand of dark elves lay trapped on the beach far below Abremelin’s castle. Many had run into the forests and woods, or were still running in a number of directions. But whatever the case, they were now too scattered, scared, and disorganized to pose any serious threats now.

The dragon set down at the base of the cliffs eyeing the dark elves that were cramming backward as much as they could. Some of the elves were trying to scale the cliffs, but the stormy sky and sea had made them too slick.

Gowen looked up the hill past the ruins of an old bell tower to the castle. With the elves contained, he could now go back and get Liadan. He was about to jump off the dragon when he felt a firm hand. He looked back in surprise at Phil, who was holding him tight.

“Hold tight, knight,” Phil sang. “Our friends hath not arrived as yet.”

“That’s who I’m trying to get to,” said a confused giant. Phil only nodded past him. Gowen turned his eyes to see a completely new army. His eyes went big and his heart skipped a beat. Gowen’s hand went instinctively to a sword that wasn’t there.

       *          *          *

Garin held his breath. His fingers ached as he moved with snail-like slowness. The click came to indicate he had succeeded at unlocking the door, but the entire group stood petrified in the dark stairway worried that it was loud enough to ruin their surprise.

Irwin looked at Liadan. “We have to be quick,” she mouthed. Irwin gripped his sword. Garin and Shylleah stood behind Shaudawn who clutched his magic staff. Liadan gave Reggie the signal.

“BLLEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAKKKKKKKK!” yelled Reggie as they he burst into the room, head down and horns fully engaged in Goat Justice mode. Irwin and Liadan followed, weapons ready to find and dispose of the evil wizard. Shaudawn was right behind.

Nothing.

Liadan’s keen eyes searched the room frantically. The room was completely empty save for open cupboards once holding a variety of magical novelties and potions.

“Ah, Shylleah?” asked Irwin. “Did we take a wrong turn somewhere?”

“No,” she said in equal amazement. “This is his chamber all right.”

Liadan kept her arrow at the ready. She pointed it at every corner and dark nook. “Do you think this is a trick, Shaudawn?”

“No, this is right… I think,” he replied. He looked confused, but he was certain that this was the right reality. He wrinkled his nose and gave a little chuckle. Walking cautiously across the room, he went down a little hallway to a wooden door marked “Toilet”. He opened it up, expecting to see it occupied, but he frowned a little when he saw it was empty.

“Uh…maybe you should have thought of that before we came in here, old man,” quipped Reggie.

Shaudawn snickered once again at the recent memory, and closed the door.

“Do you think he’s somewhere else?” Reggie offered.

“No,” Irwin shot back sarcastically. “He is really invisible and just hasn’t attacked us yet because you are just too damn sexy a creation to destroy.”

Reggie cocked he head quizzically to one side. “I don’t get it. Is that supposed to be funny? You just don’t make any sense sometimes, Irwin.” Reginald obviously wasn’t one to understand sarcasm.

“Wait!” exclaimed the faerie girl. “I remember sometimes, when he needed to…to… There’s a little stairway around that corner. It’s hard to see unless you’re right by it. Shylleah gestured over to the far end of the chamber. At that moment, a flash of lightning showed the group what she was talking about. A little stairway did go up to the roof of the tower. The lightening had flashed through the opening. The door was still open.

“So, uh, you want me to charge up the stairs like I did the first time?” Reggie asked. “If you do, just give me a second. I have to compose myself. Okay…find that place.” With eyes closed and a deep haughty sniff, the goat slowly raised his head. “I’m ready. Let’s do this.”

Irwin rolled his eyes at the drama of it all.

The group huddled together once more. Reginald was leading the way. They crept up the last curving flight of ten stairs. Rain and wind were whipping down the stairway and thunder seemed to shake the very stones themselves. Reggie tried to peek over the stone lip. Everything around him seemed very cold, from the weather to the icy masonry. But it was the next voice that surpassed all of that sensation and made him just now shiver.

“Come up! All of you. I’ve been expecting this.” It was Abremelin.

       *          *          *

“Do not take another step, or this dragon will burn you all to a crisp!” shouted the giant man to the spear-carrying army. They kept advancing as if he had never spoken. Gowen nudged his companion.

“Phil! Do something!”

Phil gave a blank look at the knight, shrugged his shoulders and jumped off the dragon. He held his arms up in the air and paused. Gowen gave a quizzical look. Phil then did a cartwheel.

“Ta-da!” he smiled. The burlap sack he had been wearing bunched up now under his armpits inadvertently exposing himself.

“Philip,” laughed the sound of an angel. “That is more of you than I would prefer to see.”

Gowen spun back toward the gracious voice. His mouth went slack as he saw the queen emerge from behind a very angry looking mob of faeries. He slid off of Terrance, and in a gesture almost involuntary, sank to his knees.

“My Lady!” was all he could say. The barest amount of the courtly code came to his lips. She walked up to him and touched his chin. He rose and felt funny as he towered over her.

“We shall keep the dark army here, good knight,” she said. “I am the Queen Anallma of the Eastern Wood and guardian of all good in this realm. I thank you for giving us the opportunity we needed. Your courage is truly an inspiration.” Gowen blushed and turned his head. He was no longer anxious or angry. In fact, this was the first time anyone of royalty had shown their appreciation toward him. If he were to describe just what he was finally feeling, perhaps the best word was fulfilled.

“It…it was really Phil who…”

“It was you, Sir Gowen, who took charge, got Phil out, and saw that my daughter took the right path toward freedom,” Queen Anallma said. Gowen put two and two together. “Yes, Shylleah is my daughter. But there is little time for genealogy. I have obtained your personal effects, my dear boy.”

Two faeries appeared with Gowen’s armor and sword. Gowen took them and quickly put them on.

“When the Lady of Blue appears

Then away go all our fears

But I ask with tongue so swift

Doth thou have for us a gift?”

Phil hopped over to the queen with his tongue hanging out like a puppy. Queen Anallma put her hand out and patted Phil.

“It has been extremely too long, dear friend,” she soothed him. She produced a strange rectangle of dark brown. Phil’s eyes lit up and he gobbled down the treat, leaving a mess all over his hands and face.

“Melts thy mouth, not in thy hands!” he giggled.

The queen looked sadly at Gowen. “Alas, dear knight, I have nothing else to give to you. But there is nothing I can give you anyway which you do not already possess. Nor is there anything that I have which your heart desires.”

Immediately, a picture of Liadan flashed brilliantly in Gowen’s head. He knew exactly what she meant. But now, he wanted more than anything else to see the woman he had fallen in love with. He smiled at the thought. He had only been around her only a short time, but he could not describe the feeling he had for her in any other way.

“You have more friends than you realize,” she added. “They look up to you. You will soon find just how much they do value you. But the time is short. You must be on your way. May you find blessing and happiness for the rest of your days.”

Gowen lowered his head and the queen placed her hand on upon it. The giant knew what he had to do. “Come on, Phil,” he said.

The old, thin man looked eagerly at Gowen, and then at Anallma as if he was asking silent for permission.

“Yes, Philip. You may go with him. But remember, you must not interfere with the decision to be set before the young boy.”

Phil’s eyes lit up and he bounded over to Terrance. He jumped on his back and began to bounce with excitement.

“Farewell, good knight,” Queen Anallma smiled. “Godspeed.”

Gowen gave one last look at the Lady in Blue and mounted the huge dragon with his sword in hand. With a signal, Phil kicked the dragon’s sides and the huge lizard leapt up into the air. Terrance’s mammoth wings beat the wind, and the two men flew toward Abremelin’s tower.

       *          *          *

Abremelin sneered. “I was watching you…until you unsheathed that Sword of Nythryll. That’s when my Seeing Basin went blank. But by that time I knew you would be here shortly.”

The magician emerged from behind what appeared to be a large, waist-high stone bench or altar on the expansive, flat rooftop. There were four such constructions, one for each cardinal point on the circular tower. In one of Abremelin’s hands was his ivory-white staff, and in the other was Irwin’s pogo stick.

“So, dear Shaudawn, you and this ...pathetic little gaggle of yours have come to dispose of me,” the magician said, wrinkling his nose and waving one arm dismissively. “I must say, they don’t look quite as qualified as the Templar Knights you sent the first time. And even when I wasn’t yet invincible, they still couldn’t defeat me. You are normally weird, Shaudawn, but I must say this is…? Well, you’ve got me baffled.”

“That is precisely the point, my brother,” Shaudawn replied a little too cheerfully.

Gowen, Liadan, Irwin and Reggie gave each other shocked looks at the revelation of Shaudawn and Abremelin’s relationship.

“But I did not come here to dispose of you. Only to claim you back. This is your last chance to give up.”

“I think I like being the most powerful being in the universe, thank you,” Abremelin quipped back. The evil magician, still clad in beautiful shimmering white robes, set the pogo stick down on one of the stone benches as if he were daring someone to take it.

Suddenly, he thrust his hand out into the air. A ball of fire sped rapidly at the group. Garin shut his eyes tight, expecting to finally die at his torturer’s hand.

The fireball slammed harmlessly against Shaudawn’s hand. Flames sprayed as if they had hit an invisible wall. Another ball of fire repeated to the same effect followed by another. When the flame and smoke cleared, the white-robed wizard faced the dark-robed sage with a grin. Irwin shivered at the now evident family resemblance.

“So, I should have expected that you had not given up on your studies either, Shaudawn,” Abremelin said. “It looks like it will be quite a challenge to overpower you. But that is of little consequence. You see, I, too, have learned that sometimes you need a little help. So, just as you had the help of some meddling knights once before, I now have a few minions of my own I’d like to introduce you to.”

The sinister magician gave a grand wave of his arm, and from below the tower came the screech of a large flock of harpies. Swirling like the dark clouds above them, this one rose hungrily to do the bidding of their master.

The harpies flew themselves at the group. A thousand ivory teeth flashed like the lightening that now ravaged every corner of the once idyllic sky. Their screeches and blood-curdling roars descended like a wave of vicious thunder.

Liadan’s hand went fast to her arrows. She had learned from the last time and kept a count of every single arrow within her quiver. With a fierce defiance behind the conviction she had to stop the death and pain of the people she loved, she unleashed thunderbolts of her own. They flew as fast as the harpies approached, each arrow finding its razor sharp head plunge deep into a heart blacker than the Abyss itself. Within moments, inky harpy blood was falling from the sky faster than rain.

Anger flashed in Abremelin’s eyes. They had learned to conquer their fear of monsters. As usual, he had to show the impudent humans a little respect himself.

The magician held his staff up high. A blinding crack issued from the sky and struck it. The electricity seemed trapped like an angry swarm of hornets within the woven finial of the wizard’s staff. He aimed it at Shaudawn.

A bolt of electricity snaked through the air. But just before it reached its target, a blur of yellow-white gold jumped up in front of the bolt.

“BLLEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAKKKKKKKK!” came the scream from the goat. The bolt exploded harmlessly into the air.

“Damn straight if you even think you’re going to ruin this fairy tale,” Reggie shouted. “You are messing with the wrong goat, you overgrown snowflake. I’d tell you to go straight to Hell if I didn’t think your heart was so cold that Hell would actually freeze over. And if that happened then who knows what else would—like pigs flying, and…well, I just don’t think I could handle more than one weird week at a time.”

Abremelin, now visibly miffed, aimed once more at the wizard. The lightning, again drawn to the natural conductor of the magical barding, dissipated harmlessly.

Liadan shouted. “I hate to interrupt, but you guys better hurry up! I’m running out of arrows here!” Her count was getting too low. As she let one more fly with lethal accuracy into another vulture-woman, she took a survey of how many of them remained and compared them to the mental inventory. There was a deficit—a big deficit. The cloud of harpies, though more reduced now, was almost upon them.

Irwin stood atop one of the stone benches. He unsheathed the Sword of Nythryll and began to swing at the first few harpies. Fierce cries and black blood began to fly everywhere. Irwin was amazed at how agile the sword felt in his hands and how natural those moves Liadan showed him felt.

“Wizard man! Irwin! Liadan! Someone! Those things are almost on top of us!” screamed Reggie. The black cloud of vulture women was closing in. Liadan felt the last few arrows in her quiver. She eyed the stairway and wondered how she could get her father and Shylleah there fast enough to at least buy them a little time. Another arrow whizzed just inches past Shaudawn’s head into another of the lead harpies. How was she going to cover everyone at the same time? She had to make a choice. Liadan held her breath.

There was a roar and a brilliant ball of light. Thinking Abremelin had somehow gotten one of his spells past Shaudawn, the group ducked. But the ball of fire wasn’t aimed at them. A hole appeared in the cloud of harpies. There was a stench of burned feathers and vulture flesh.

Irwin felt his arms go numb. He knew about harpies. A dragon was another thing entirely. Liadan likewise felt her legs get weak. But she was confused as the monstrous cloud turned on the flying lizard rather than join it. If this was Abremelin’s idea of a force against them, it sure wasn’t the most concerted way to do it.

“Gowen!” shouted Garin pointing at the dragon. “And Phil! They made it!”

Liadan spun in surprise toward her father and then back to the beast. Sure enough, she could make out two riders on the back of the enormous beast. Terrance wheeled in the air and blasted another breath. The full flock of harpies had turned from their course and concentrated on this new threat. A different fear went into Liadan’s heart now that she knew one of the beast’s riders.

Abremelin gave an enraged shout. This was just not going as he had anticipated. If there was one thing he hated, it was when events went out of his control—when they didn’t go to plan. And right now, events were headed in that direction.

“It seems as though I have underestimated you, Shaudawn,” the evil magician hissed. “Your unconventional band here has indeed made a mess of things. And even taking my very own dragon? I cannot say how much that infuriates me, brother. But you have given me a wonderfully vicious idea.”

Abremelin pointed his staff into the air and carved out an oval the height of a person. The air shimmered. Suddenly, with a blinding blue flash, there was an elliptical boarder of electricity surrounding the scene of another world. It was a white world with horrible wind and snow and ice—one Abremelin called Antarctica.

       *          *          *

Terrance gave another blast of fiery breath at the disgusting harpies. It was a thick cloud that they had seen spring up suddenly. At first, Gowen and Phil thought the cloud was attacking them. However, they soon realized that the harpies were in an awful hurry to get to the same tower as them.

And when the dragon got closer, Gowen could see the pyrotechnical display between Abremelin and Shaudawn. Soon afterward, he saw Liadan flinging arrows into the harpy horde. Terrance and Phil also seemed to have a natural distaste for vulture women, so persuading them to attack was easy. As soon as the horde turned on them, however, Gowen was beginning to feel his gesture might have been more foolish than heroic.

The knight had once seen a pack of wild dogs take on a bear. The bear lost. It was a matter of numbers over brute strength. Terrance’s breath took out large numbers of the dim-witted monsters, but the cloud came at them from all sides.

Gowen hooked his feet under one of Terrance’s scales and stood up on the flying dragon. He remembered what Liadan had told him about keeping his center of balance low in his pelvis, and he could feel himself secure despite the flying lizard arcing across the sky. With his blade flying, he was able to keep a few of the harpies from slashing at Phil and himself. More sticky blood flying everywhere made it hard to see.

Terrance closed in on the tower. The creatures followed screaming and complaining that heat of that magnitude tended to do undesirable things to their complexion. Gowen chanced a look at the people assembled on top of the tower as the dragon circled around it. He could see the surprise in Irwin’s face. He could see the joy in Garin. He could see the approval in Shaudawn. And he could see the concern in Liadan. His eyes lingered on hers; failing to see the shimmering oval that also was pointed in his general direction.

The blast of icy wind came suddenly. It hit with the force of a battering ram. Gowen felt his foot slip out from Terrance’s scale and he plummeted downward.

Description
Donovan’s Ending

Irwin felt the girl’s fingers dig into his arm as they all ascended the stairs toward Abremelin’s chambers. She clung to him as if she had known him for a lifetime. Irwin’s head swam. He felt more different than he ever had before. Electricity seemed to emanate from her hand up into Irwin’s heart via his stomach. He wasn’t sure if this was natural, or something magical from within the faerie princess herself. Irwin looked at Shaudawn, who simply nodded and smiled. This didn’t help Irwin figure the nature of the sensation much, but at least if the sage was smiling, it couldn’t be all bad.

The young boy patted the girl’s hand, and she eased a little on the grip. She gave him an apologetic look and began to remove her hand. But, to the surprise of them both, Irwin reached up and clasped her reassuringly. Shylleah kept her hand on Irwin’s arm, but was a bit more mindful to keep the blood flowing to his fingers.

“Okay, I don’t get it,” Reginald whispered to Shaudawn. “How is it that the whole thing with him falling in love with Liadan seemed to just not work, but here he is with this faerie girl and they just cling to each other like gorgeous on goat?”

“Love doesn’t seem to have an absolute logic,” Shaudawn replied. “I really can’t tell you why some people work and some don’t. But there is one thing I suspect.” Reggie inched closer to hear the soft-spoken words.

“Notice that when Irwin was falling in love with Liadan, he expected her to make him happy. But the road to manhood is something one has to discover for himself. Irwin has come a long way in a very short time—even near the point of death once. But notice that he did something here for Shylleah—not because it made him happy, but simply because it was the right thing for him to do. And likewise, Shylleah could have run and hid. But she, instead, chose to aid Irwin against Abremelin. It’s hard to say, but maybe there’s something to that.”

Liadan, in the meantime, took a closer look at her father. It had indeed been a long time since she had seen her father, but she knew he wasn’t that skinny.

“Perhaps you should find your way down the stairs,” she told him in a hushed tone. “Wait for us at the gate at the bottom. You should be safe enough there until we can get you. And if something goes horribly wrong, you can run for the safety of the woods.”

“I’ve been away from you too long, my dear,” Garin whispered his reply. “My heart couldn’t handle another departure, especially when you tell me you are going to face that wizard. I would rather die at your side than leave you, though I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

Liadan fought back another wave of tears. How many cold and lonely nights had she dreamed of him saying those exact words? But now that she had finally found him, her fear of him coming to harm again was almost too much.

“You can’t even hold a sword or pull a bow, father,” she argued. “I really hate to say this, but you’d only end up being more of a liability to us than an asset.” Garin’s own eyes began to water. He remembered the little girl he left behind one fateful day who would always run into his arms after a trip to the Northern Village to hear what adventure he had to tell. How the years must have calloused her. He saw right through his daughter’s argument and embraced her tightly again.

“You do not need to worry about me anymore,” he cooed into her ear as if he were telling a bedtime story once more. “I’ll be alright, my daughter.” Liadan sniffed. She pushed him back. It was as if she could read his mind; as if she were that innocent girl once more. But she shook her head. She’d never forgive herself if something happened to him.

Liadan started as Shaudawn placed a hand on both her shoulder and Garin’s. The seer’s cloak was so dark, it made him almost invisible—except for the odd head poking out of it.

“Huntress of the wood,” he addressed her. “Do not fret over the path your father wants to take with you. We never know what Fate has in store for us, even when we think we are sending our loved ones toward protection. All we have is the short time with those we care about and what we do with that time. Far better is it to be together than apart.” A little twinkle glimmered in Shaudawn’s eye. Liadan couldn’t figure if it was a reflection of Irwin’s magic sword, or if the spark originated deep within the sage himself.

“Besides,” he grinned, “no one else here knows how to pick locks.”

Liadan’s eyes went big as Garin shrugged sheepishly.

       *          *          *

It was like looking at a tremendous anthill. Tiny little dots seemed to race everywhere in panic as the huge silhouette of a giant flying lizard glided over them. Gowen surveyed the formations. His knightly training had included estimating soldiers in formation. He didn’t like what he saw.

“Brenda!” Gowen shouted over the rushing roar of wind and dragon. He couldn’t figure out just how a weightless stick like the centuries-old man could not be blown off the beast.

“Thou canst calleth me Phil,” he replied.

“Phil,” Gowen began again. “We’ve got to do something about this army. By my estimate, there’s got to be hundreds of thousands of warriors down there.”

Phil glanced over the side nonchalantly. “Forsooth!” Phil exclaimed. “Methinks we should do something to remedy the inequity beneath. Terrance… Sick ‘em!”

“Wait! Phil! No!” Gowen gripped Phil’s paper-thin waste tight, praying that he wasn’t about to snap the man in half. The dragon, as if reading his driver’s mind, swooped low squirting flame and smoke. Any discipline the dark elves might have had was broken as they all scattered in every possible direction.

“Black and blue, should be you

Crunchy crispy minion

But hurt you not; I’ve not forgot

Your thoughts are not your opinion”

Gowen was noticing that despite all of the terror and fire, not one of the elves were actually being harmed by Terrance. The dragon was like a big dog running among chickens, delighting in the mayhem but never crossing his mind that he really wanted to do any harm.

“Phil! See if you can get as many of them cornered as you can. We have to get them to drop their weapons too, if possible.”

“Not a problem!” Phil shouted over his shoulder. And with that, Terrance gave such a roar, Gowen could see the dark elves turn white—or at least a shade of gray—with fear, throw their weapons to the ground, and run. With unbelievable grace and precision, Terrance wheeled in the sky. And like sheep, the elves were now running toward the base of the cliffs near the sea.

“That’s it!” laughed Gowen. Soon thousand of dark elves lay trapped on the beach far below Abremelin’s castle. Many had run into the forests and woods, or were still running in a number of directions. But whatever the case, they were now too scattered, scared, and disorganized to pose any serious threats now.

The dragon set down at the base of the cliffs eyeing the dark elves that were cramming backward as much as they could. Some of the elves were trying to scale the cliffs, but the stormy sky and sea had made them too slick.

Gowen looked up the hill past the ruins of an old bell tower to the castle. With the elves contained, he could now go back and get Liadan. He was about to jump off the dragon when he felt a firm hand. He looked back in surprise at Phil, who was holding him tight.

“Hold tight, knight,” Phil sang. “Our friends hath not arrived as yet.”

“That’s who I’m trying to get to,” said a confused giant. Phil only nodded past him. Gowen turned his eyes to see a completely new army. His eyes went big and his heart skipped a beat. Gowen’s hand went instinctively to a sword that wasn’t there.

       *          *          *

Garin held his breath. His fingers ached as he moved with snail-like slowness. The click came to indicate he had succeeded at unlocking the door, but the entire group stood petrified in the dark stairway worried that it was loud enough to ruin their surprise.

Irwin looked at Liadan. “We have to be quick,” she mouthed. Irwin gripped his sword. Garin and Shylleah stood behind Shaudawn who clutched his magic staff. Liadan gave Reggie the signal.

“BLLEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAKKKKKKKK!” yelled Reggie as they he burst into the room, head down and horns fully engaged in Goat Justice mode. Irwin and Liadan followed, weapons ready to find and dispose of the evil wizard. Shaudawn was right behind.

Nothing.

Liadan’s keen eyes searched the room frantically. The room was completely empty save for open cupboards once holding a variety of magical novelties and potions.

“Ah, Shylleah?” asked Irwin. “Did we take a wrong turn somewhere?”

“No,” she said in equal amazement. “This is his chamber all right.”

Liadan kept her arrow at the ready. She pointed it at every corner and dark nook. “Do you think this is a trick, Shaudawn?”

“No, this is right… I think,” he replied. He looked confused, but he was certain that this was the right reality. He wrinkled his nose and gave a little chuckle. Walking cautiously across the room, he went down a little hallway to a wooden door marked “Toilet”. He opened it up, expecting to see it occupied, but he frowned a little when he saw it was empty.

“Uh…maybe you should have thought of that before we came in here, old man,” quipped Reggie.

Shaudawn snickered once again at the recent memory, and closed the door.

“Do you think he’s somewhere else?” Reggie offered.

“No,” Irwin shot back sarcastically. “He is really invisible and just hasn’t attacked us yet because you are just too damn sexy a creation to destroy.”

Reggie cocked he head quizzically to one side. “I don’t get it. Is that supposed to be funny? You just don’t make any sense sometimes, Irwin.” Reginald obviously wasn’t one to understand sarcasm.

“Wait!” exclaimed the faerie girl. “I remember sometimes, when he needed to…to… There’s a little stairway around that corner. It’s hard to see unless you’re right by it. Shylleah gestured over to the far end of the chamber. At that moment, a flash of lightning showed the group what she was talking about. A little stairway did go up to the roof of the tower. The lightening had flashed through the opening. The door was still open.

“So, uh, you want me to charge up the stairs like I did the first time?” Reggie asked. “If you do, just give me a second. I have to compose myself. Okay…find that place.” With eyes closed and a deep haughty sniff, the goat slowly raised his head. “I’m ready. Let’s do this.”

Irwin rolled his eyes at the drama of it all.

The group huddled together once more. Reginald was leading the way. They crept up the last curving flight of ten stairs. Rain and wind were whipping down the stairway and thunder seemed to shake the very stones themselves. Reggie tried to peek over the stone lip. Everything around him seemed very cold, from the weather to the icy masonry. But it was the next voice that surpassed all of that sensation and made him just now shiver.

“Come up! All of you. I’ve been expecting this.” It was Abremelin.

       *          *          *

“Do not take another step, or this dragon will burn you all to a crisp!” shouted the giant man to the spear-carrying army. They kept advancing as if he had never spoken. Gowen nudged his companion.

“Phil! Do something!”

Phil gave a blank look at the knight, shrugged his shoulders and jumped off the dragon. He held his arms up in the air and paused. Gowen gave a quizzical look. Phil then did a cartwheel.

“Ta-da!” he smiled. The burlap sack he had been wearing bunched up now under his armpits inadvertently exposing himself.

“Philip,” laughed the sound of an angel. “That is more of you than I would prefer to see.”

Gowen spun back toward the gracious voice. His mouth went slack as he saw the queen emerge from behind a very angry looking mob of faeries. He slid off of Terrance, and in a gesture almost involuntary, sank to his knees.

“My Lady!” was all he could say. The barest amount of the courtly code came to his lips. She walked up to him and touched his chin. He rose and felt funny as he towered over her.

“We shall keep the dark army here, good knight,” she said. “I am the Queen Anallma of the Eastern Wood and guardian of all good in this realm. I thank you for giving us the opportunity we needed. Your courage is truly an inspiration.” Gowen blushed and turned his head. He was no longer anxious or angry. In fact, this was the first time anyone of royalty had shown their appreciation toward him. If he were to describe just what he was finally feeling, perhaps the best word was fulfilled.

“It…it was really Phil who…”

“It was you, Sir Gowen, who took charge, got Phil out, and saw that my daughter took the right path toward freedom,” Queen Anallma said. Gowen put two and two together. “Yes, Shylleah is my daughter. But there is little time for genealogy. I have obtained your personal effects, my dear boy.”

Two faeries appeared with Gowen’s armor and sword. Gowen took them and quickly put them on.

“When the Lady of Blue appears

Then away go all our fears

But I ask with tongue so swift

Doth thou have for us a gift?”

Phil hopped over to the queen with his tongue hanging out like a puppy. Queen Anallma put her hand out and patted Phil.

“It has been extremely too long, dear friend,” she soothed him. She produced a strange rectangle of dark brown. Phil’s eyes lit up and he gobbled down the treat, leaving a mess all over his hands and face.

“Melts thy mouth, not in thy hands!” he giggled.

The queen looked sadly at Gowen. “Alas, dear knight, I have nothing else to give to you. But there is nothing I can give you anyway which you do not already possess. Nor is there anything that I have which your heart desires.”

Immediately, a picture of Liadan flashed brilliantly in Gowen’s head. He knew exactly what she meant. But now, he wanted more than anything else to see the woman he had fallen in love with. He smiled at the thought. He had only been around her only a short time, but he could not describe the feeling he had for her in any other way.

“You have more friends than you realize,” she added. “They look up to you. You will soon find just how much they do value you. But the time is short. You must be on your way. May you find blessing and happiness for the rest of your days.”

Gowen lowered his head and the queen placed her hand on upon it. The giant knew what he had to do. “Come on, Phil,” he said.

The old, thin man looked eagerly at Gowen, and then at Anallma as if he was asking silent for permission.

“Yes, Philip. You may go with him. But remember, you must not interfere with the decision to be set before the young boy.”

Phil’s eyes lit up and he bounded over to Terrance. He jumped on his back and began to bounce with excitement.

“Farewell, good knight,” Queen Anallma smiled. “Godspeed.”

Gowen gave one last look at the Lady in Blue and mounted the huge dragon with his sword in hand. With a signal, Phil kicked the dragon’s sides and the huge lizard leapt up into the air. Terrance’s mammoth wings beat the wind, and the two men flew toward Abremelin’s tower.

       *          *          *

Abremelin sneered. “I was watching you…until you unsheathed that Sword of Nythryll. That’s when my Seeing Basin went blank. But by that time I knew you would be here shortly.”

The magician emerged from behind what appeared to be a large, waist-high stone bench or altar on the expansive, flat rooftop. There were four such constructions, one for each cardinal point on the circular tower. In one of Abremelin’s hands was his ivory-white staff, and in the other was Irwin’s pogo stick.

“So, dear Shaudawn, you and this ...pathetic little gaggle of yours have come to dispose of me,” the magician said, wrinkling his nose and waving one arm dismissively. “I must say, they don’t look quite as qualified as the Templar Knights you sent the first time. And even when I wasn’t yet invincible, they still couldn’t defeat me. You are normally weird, Shaudawn, but I must say this is…? Well, you’ve got me baffled.”

“That is precisely the point, my brother,” Shaudawn replied a little too cheerfully.

Gowen, Liadan, Irwin and Reggie gave each other shocked looks at the revelation of Shaudawn and Abremelin’s relationship.

“But I did not come here to dispose of you. Only to claim you back. This is your last chance to give up.”

“I think I like being the most powerful being in the universe, thank you,” Abremelin quipped back. The evil magician, still clad in beautiful shimmering white robes, set the pogo stick down on one of the stone benches as if he were daring someone to take it.

Suddenly, he thrust his hand out into the air. A ball of fire sped rapidly at the group. Garin shut his eyes tight, expecting to finally die at his torturer’s hand.

The fireball slammed harmlessly against Shaudawn’s hand. Flames sprayed as if they had hit an invisible wall. Another ball of fire repeated to the same effect followed by another. When the flame and smoke cleared, the white-robed wizard faced the dark-robed sage with a grin. Irwin shivered at the now evident family resemblance.

“So, I should have expected that you had not given up on your studies either, Shaudawn,” Abremelin said. “It looks like it will be quite a challenge to overpower you. But that is of little consequence. You see, I, too, have learned that sometimes you need a little help. So, just as you had the help of some meddling knights once before, I now have a few minions of my own I’d like to introduce you to.”

The sinister magician gave a grand wave of his arm, and from below the tower came the screech of a large flock of harpies. Swirling like the dark clouds above them, this one rose hungrily to do the bidding of their master.

The harpies flew themselves at the group. A thousand ivory teeth flashed like the lightening that now ravaged every corner of the once idyllic sky. Their screeches and blood-curdling roars descended like a wave of vicious thunder.

Liadan’s hand went fast to her arrows. She had learned from the last time and kept a count of every single arrow within her quiver. With a fierce defiance behind the conviction she had to stop the death and pain of the people she loved, she unleashed thunderbolts of her own. They flew as fast as the harpies approached, each arrow finding its razor sharp head plunge deep into a heart blacker than the Abyss itself. Within moments, inky harpy blood was falling from the sky faster than rain.

Anger flashed in Abremelin’s eyes. They had learned to conquer their fear of monsters. As usual, he had to show the impudent humans a little respect himself.

The magician held his staff up high. A blinding crack issued from the sky and struck it. The electricity seemed trapped like an angry swarm of hornets within the woven finial of the wizard’s staff. He aimed it at Shaudawn.

A bolt of electricity snaked through the air. But just before it reached its target, a blur of yellow-white gold jumped up in front of the bolt.

“BLLEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAKKKKKKKK!” came the scream from the goat. The bolt exploded harmlessly into the air.

“Damn straight if you even think you’re going to ruin this fairy tale,” Reggie shouted. “You are messing with the wrong goat, you overgrown snowflake. I’d tell you to go straight to Hell if I didn’t think your heart was so cold that Hell would actually freeze over. And if that happened then who knows what else would—like pigs flying, and…well, I just don’t think I could handle more than one weird week at a time.”

Abremelin, now visibly miffed, aimed once more at the wizard. The lightning, again drawn to the natural conductor of the magical barding, dissipated harmlessly.

Liadan shouted. “I hate to interrupt, but you guys better hurry up! I’m running out of arrows here!” Her count was getting too low. As she let one more fly with lethal accuracy into another vulture-woman, she took a survey of how many of them remained and compared them to the mental inventory. There was a deficit—a big deficit. The cloud of harpies, though more reduced now, was almost upon them.

Irwin stood atop one of the stone benches. He unsheathed the Sword of Nythryll and began to swing at the first few harpies. Fierce cries and black blood began to fly everywhere. Irwin was amazed at how agile the sword felt in his hands and how natural those moves Liadan showed him felt.

“Wizard man! Irwin! Liadan! Someone! Those things are almost on top of us!” screamed Reggie. The black cloud of vulture women was closing in. Liadan felt the last few arrows in her quiver. She eyed the stairway and wondered how she could get her father and Shylleah there fast enough to at least buy them a little time. Another arrow whizzed just inches past Shaudawn’s head into another of the lead harpies. How was she going to cover everyone at the same time? She had to make a choice. Liadan held her breath.

There was a roar and a brilliant ball of light. Thinking Abremelin had somehow gotten one of his spells past Shaudawn, the group ducked. But the ball of fire wasn’t aimed at them. A hole appeared in the cloud of harpies. There was a stench of burned feathers and vulture flesh.

Irwin felt his arms go numb. He knew about harpies. A dragon was another thing entirely. Liadan likewise felt her legs get weak. But she was confused as the monstrous cloud turned on the flying lizard rather than join it. If this was Abremelin’s idea of a force against them, it sure wasn’t the most concerted way to do it.

“Gowen!” shouted Garin pointing at the dragon. “And Phil! They made it!”

Liadan spun in surprise toward her father and then back to the beast. Sure enough, she could make out two riders on the back of the enormous beast. Terrance wheeled in the air and blasted another breath. The full flock of harpies had turned from their course and concentrated on this new threat. A different fear went into Liadan’s heart now that she knew one of the beast’s riders.

Abremelin gave an enraged shout. This was just not going as he had anticipated. If there was one thing he hated, it was when events went out of his control—when they didn’t go to plan. And right now, events were headed in that direction.

“It seems as though I have underestimated you, Shaudawn,” the evil magician hissed. “Your unconventional band here has indeed made a mess of things. And even taking my very own dragon? I cannot say how much that infuriates me, brother. But you have given me a wonderfully vicious idea.”

Abremelin pointed his staff into the air and carved out an oval the height of a person. The air shimmered. Suddenly, with a blinding blue flash, there was an elliptical boarder of electricity surrounding the scene of another world. It was a white world with horrible wind and snow and ice—one Abremelin called Antarctica.

       *          *          *

Terrance gave another blast of fiery breath at the disgusting harpies. It was a thick cloud that they had seen spring up suddenly. At first, Gowen and Phil thought the cloud was attacking them. However, they soon realized that the harpies were in an awful hurry to get to the same tower as them.

And when the dragon got closer, Gowen could see the pyrotechnical display between Abremelin and Shaudawn. Soon afterward, he saw Liadan flinging arrows into the harpy horde. Terrance and Phil also seemed to have a natural distaste for vulture women, so persuading them to attack was easy. As soon as the horde turned on them, however, Gowen was beginning to feel his gesture might have been more foolish than heroic.

The knight had once seen a pack of wild dogs take on a bear. The bear lost. It was a matter of numbers over brute strength. Terrance’s breath took out large numbers of the dim-witted monsters, but the cloud came at them from all sides.

Gowen hooked his feet under one of Terrance’s scales and stood up on the flying dragon. He remembered what Liadan had told him about keeping his center of balance low in his pelvis, and he could feel himself secure despite the flying lizard arcing across the sky. With his blade flying, he was able to keep a few of the harpies from slashing at Phil and himself. More sticky blood flying everywhere made it hard to see.

Terrance closed in on the tower. The creatures followed screaming and complaining that heat of that magnitude tended to do undesirable things to their complexion. Gowen chanced a look at the people assembled on top of the tower as the dragon circled around it. He could see the surprise in Irwin’s face. He could see the joy in Garin. He could see the approval in Shaudawn. And he could see the concern in Liadan. His eyes lingered on hers; failing to see the shimmering oval that also was pointed in his general direction.

The blast of icy wind came suddenly. It hit with the force of a battering ram. Gowen felt his foot slip out from Terrance’s scale and he plummeted downward.