Children of the Sun and Moon (33 page)

Soon they were
in the forest, following an over grown game trail. It was obvious
some time had passed since it was used, and it amazed Eric that the
elves eyesight was so keen. He only noticed the start of the trail
when pointed out to him. Grund, being one of the few dwarves who
liked being outside, marvelled at the forest. Drundle smiled at the
look of amazement on his face. The forest was thick and old. The
trunks of some trees were so massive if three people stood fingers
touching on one hand, they would barely find the other.

Although Koral
and Eric were in awe of the massive trees, the goblins appeared at
home. Birds and animals chirped, flitting from branch to branch in
the trees, but were never seen. The foliage was so thick the sun
came in only through holes, or where younger trees dwelled.

Within an hour,
they had arrived at the edge of the barracks. It was a massive
compound, which stunned everyone except Gillock and Maeve. A
stonewall surrounding it gave the appearance of a town. Buildings
peeking over the top, and watchtowers at varying intervals along
the wall made you realize it was more than a town.

“This must
house hundreds of soldiers,” exclaimed Glavlin.

“It can hold
thousands,” was Maeve's curt reply. “And we better keep
moving.”

Slowly they
crept around the edge of the compound, hoping they would not
encounter any patrols. Everyone was on edge, and every sound
appeared exaggerated. For half an hour, they skirted the barrack
wall, and finally the end came into view.

“This is a
massive compound,” remarked Eric. “If the Maget ever decided to
attack, the Central Lands could be in great danger!” No one replied
for they all had been thinking the same.

They turned
southward and continued away from the compound. After a bit of
travel, an outcropping of rocks came into view, with a path leading
down to the left.

“Perfect spot
fer a trap,” commented Drundle.

Glavlin
apparently had the same idea, for he had brought the group to a
halt. The goblins tightened ranks around Eric and Koral, and
Gillock moved forward to converse with the elf. After several
minutes, the travellers started to become nervous. It was clear a
trap awaited them. The forest was silent, and this was the only way
to go. The quiet was unnerving.

“We must fight.
We have no choice,” whispered Gillock to the elf. “This begins the
trail which will lead us to the path that will take us to the
entrance to Deaths Boundary.”

“Maybe it is
time we used magic,” stated Eric, coming up quietly on the two.

“Yes, perhaps
you are right,” replied Gillock.

“They are down
about thirty feet. Probably wondering why we have stopped,” said
Darly. “If we are going to make them believe we are not aware of
the trap we need to move now.”

Everyone
agreed, and they began to make their way down the trail. It only
took a few moments and then they were under attack. Soldiers
swarmed all around them. They were outnumbered, but only by a
few.

Eric and Koral
had never killed before, but both knew the day would come. They
danced around, fighting with all they had but trying to disarm and
injure instead of kill, but to no avail. One soldier, trying to
sneak up behind Maeve, jumped to the side, and onto Koral's blade.
Koral watched his look of shock fade from his face as he died. She
had always worried how she would react and was quite surprised it
didn’t bother her as much as she had thought it would. Quickly
forgetting the soldier, she turned to face a new foe.

Eric, after
killing two soldiers, was getting nowhere with the third. He
decided a new approach was needed. Calling upon his magic, he set
his sword on fire. It was not a real burning fire, but more of an
illusion. The soldier was instantly thrown off his game, and Eric
quickly took advantage. The soldiers were defeated in a matter of
minutes, the elves taking out the majority. Eric and Koral had been
enthralled by the beauty which was the elves fighting
technique.

The group
slowly gathered their things from where they had thrown and set to
continue on. They passed through the bodies and before anyone could
react one of the bodies jumped up and slashed Mekken across the
chest. Darly was instantly on the soldier, cutting him down. She
turned to her brother, figuring the worst, to find him standing and
smiling. Then she noticed the slash. Deep and clearly a death blow,
but it was bleeding black. Mekken began to laugh, and all of them
knew now who their betrayer had been. Before anyone could attack,
he turned into a wisp of black and disappeared.

Darly sank to
the ground. “How long has my brother been dead?” she asked no one
in particular.

Maeve moved
beside her, kneeling down. “Many weeks would be my guess.”

Darly just
shook her head and let the tears fall. Moments later, she regained
her composure. “Let us be off. We are nearing the end of our
quest.”

The goblins
stood off to the side, taking it all in. Nak felt guilty. He should
have known Malena would have sent a demon to find him. The rest of
the group did not realize it, but Nak was the key to getting them
into the Void. Gillock being the exception.

“Yes, let us
get this over with,” said Koral. All agreed and then headed off
down the trail. It was slow going, and no one spoke until they made
camp that night.

The evening was
spent in almost silence, only a few words spoken by anyone. It
wasn’t long until everyone decided to settle in for the night.
Having a cold supper, and heavy hearts for the loss of Mekken, had
made everyone sombre. The night was warm, and by morning was quite
humid. Clouds had rolled in and threatened to rain. By the time
they had packed up camp, it had started to come down as a drizzle.
Walking was slow going as they were still going through rocky
passes. The rain had started to come down a bit harder, making the
path muddy and slick.

For two days,
they walked through the rain, barely a word spoken. Luckily for the
group, the trees being large, gave them protection from most of it.
When they stopped for the afternoon meal, the rain had begun to
lighten again.

“Tomorrow we
will not be stopping to make camp until we reach the end of the
forest,” announced Gillock. The rain had slowed their progress and
time was something they did not have.

“End of the
forest?” Eric asked.

It was Maeve,
who answered. “Deaths Boundary is in a desert. We must travel for
two days through the Salmany Desert, and then we will come upon an
odd rock formation. It was created to keep unwanted creatures to
the south.”

Gillock was
again surprised by the young woman and was going to comment when an
overwhelming sense of dread over took him. “I must leave!” he
stated then disappeared.

The entire
group was stunned, and stared at where Gillock had just been. How
were they going to continue without the wizard?

“Wez inz
troublez,” said Mork.

“No, Mork. The
wizard will return,” declared Maeve, her voice calm. “We must
continue as planned. Time isn’t on our side.”

“Maeve is
right,” remarked Glavlin. “Gillock must have an important reason
for leaving us, but he will return. We will continue on.”

Miles away, in
a small room, Elizanne sat facing the hole in the wall. Clouds had
made it so she could sit in the chair and not be blinded, but the
dread she felt was beginning to overwhelm her. It was as if
hundreds of voices were all trying to get her attention, but were
just out of her reach. Slowly, she could feel her sanity slipping
away, and it alarmed her. She had only been in the room a short
time, and wondered if the souls of those who died here were trying
to tell her something. She hadn’t tried to use her magic, feeling
the room itself might harm her if she did. Frightened and confused,
she closed her eyes.

Concentrating
on Gillock, she sent out a thought towards him, trying to convey
her frame of mind. After a few moments, she felt as if she
connected to him, but it immediately faded. Opening her eyes, the
tears began to fall. She began to imagine all the tortures, which
were awaiting her. A bright flash behind her brought her out of her
reverie. Gillock immediately came around so she could see him. He
knelt down and cupped her face in his hands. “I am here, my
queen.”

Elizanne had
never felt such relief in her life and within a few moments, he had
cut her free and whisked them out of the room. Within a breath,
they appeared in another small room. As she looked around, she
realized she was in Jeremy's study, back in Castle Klayhern.
Overwhelmed, she collapsed to the ground.

Gillock picked
her up and placed her on a chair. “Stay here. I will go find
Jeremy.”

He flew out of
the room, running past startled servants, and headed straight for
the throne room. It was mid-afternoon and Jeremy was in the throne
room discussing tactics with Olrond and Korben, when Gillock burst
through the doors. The guards standing outside had been stunned to
see the wizard and didn’t argue when he pushed his way in. Jeremy
glanced up when he heard the doors open and was shocked to see
Gillock. “The queen is in your study,” was all he said, then turned
around and headed back to Elizanne. It took Jeremy a second to
gather himself, then he was off running to catch up with Gillock.
Olrond and Korben but a step behind.

Jeremy burst
into his study, and quickly took Elizanne into his arms. They
stood, embraced for many minutes until Elizanne pulled away. She
again sat down, and bade the others to sit as well, and began to
inform them to all which had transpired since she had left. Jeremy
was elated to hear Eric and Koral were safe, and almost at the end
of their quest. He began to tell his tale, and started with Brin.
Elizanne was devastated, but let Jeremy continue with the rest of
what had been going on in Klayhern.

Korben watched
their reunion, and listened to the tales, but could not stop
thinking about what Meechie had said. Perhaps it was time.

“So much
happening in such a short time,” exclaimed Elizanne.

“And there is
more,” said Korben standing and coming over to the queen.

“More?” she
asked, confused.

Korben looked
at Jeremy, then Olrond. Both nodded, knowing what he was about to
do. “Many years ago, I was in a house. It caught fire, and everyone
got out, except me. Days later I found out people had thought I had
perished, but I had not. I had fallen into a secret compartment,
long forgotten, under the house. Many things had been happening at
that time, so instead of coming forward and letting everyone know I
was alive, I went to the Temple of Allorethna, and let them take me
in.” Here he paused, finally looking into Elizanne's eyes. Tears
were welling up in them. “Meechie was a junior priest then, and
convinced the senior priests to alter my appearance. When my father
lay dying, I snuck in and told him the truth. He had known all
along I was alive, and had decided to respect my decision.”

Elizanne burst
from her chair and threw her arms around Korben. “Jessup,” she
whispered through her tears. She let him go and took a step back.
“Father knew?”

He smiled.
“Yes. Apparently one of the young priests informed him.”

Elizanne sat
down again. “There is more, is there not?”

“Yes. Meechie
thinks when magic is returned, the spell altering my appearance
will end. To prevent it from happening when I’m not prepared, I'm
going to get him to remove the spell early. Now that you are back,
I would like to send for him, and do it tonight.”

Elizanne now
smiled. “That seems quite prudent. And I look forward to seeing my
brother’s true face once again.”

CHAPTER THIRTY

The group made
camp at the edge of the forest. They had arrived as the sun was
setting and everyone was amazed at what lay before them. Miles and
miles of sand started right where the forest ended. One moment you
are in thick trees, the next nothing but sand.

“This not be
possible,” stated Grund, staring at the vastness in front of
him.

“This is
Death’s Boundary,” remarked Glavlin. “The magic which created the
Void expands as far as here. If we had gone west towards the
Unmoving Mountains, you would have seen a vast forest turn into a
vile swamp. That again is from the magic which has separated the
Central Lands from the rest of Melarandra.”

“Will all this
change once we complete our task?” asked Koral.

“When your task
is truly completed, many things which have not been seen for many
years, will again be visible. The shape of the land surrounding the
Central Lands will vastly change,” came Maeve's cryptic reply.
“Magna Pass will again be travelled,” she added quietly.

“Creatures
which were banished from here will again be able to move about
these lands,” continued Glavlin. “This forest will continue all the
way to the rock formation which was the original Death's Boundary.
The desert will start on the other side.”

“And what of
the swamp to the west?” questioned Eric.

“The swamp was
always there,” commented Darly. “It is larger than it once was and
has become more vile and dangerous over the years. However, I am
sure at least part of it will remain.”

“Yes, magic
somewhat exists in the swamp, so part of it will most likely
remain,” came Gillock’s voice from behind.

The entire
group started and turned to see the wizard. “Be about time!”
exclaimed Grund.

He moved the
group to the campsite and started a fire. “We have no need to worry
tonight,” he said when he saw the concerned looks on some faces.
When everyone had settled down, he began to speak. “First I am
going to apologize for leaving as I did. Elizanne was in great
peril and I had to intercede.”