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  Hidden from sight behind a doorway Dianna scowled at them.

  CHAPTER 19

  Gabriel

  Gabriel passed the medical tent and decided to stop and check in on the soldiers who had been wounded that night. Natasha saw him joking with the men and encouraging them to get better and approached him as he turned to the next patient along the row.

  “Tasha,” he said, his eyes lighting up.

  She smiled and asked, “Have you come for your check up Gabriel?”

  “I have been meaning to come by to see you.”

  “For your check up?” she asked raising her eyebrows.

  “Of course. I have this pain in my chest whenever I think of you. I thought maybe you could help?”

  “Grab a seat then.” She led him to an empty bed. “Maybe that pain would go away if you stopped thinking about me.”

  The soldiers down the row of beds started jeering.

  Gabriel turned red as she began checking his heart rate using her watch.

  Trying to change the subject he said, “You know those things are almost useless on this planet. The day’s cycle is an hour longer than earth’s and a lot of watches stopped when people arrived here, even the better models like this one are beginning to behave erratically.”

  “True, but it still counts minutes and hours correctly.”

  Gabriel noticed her hand lingering on his wrist as he said, “I can’t even remember when I lost mine last night or even if it was working.”

  “Open wide.” She shoved a thermometer into his mouth as he was about to ask why. She lowered her voice and said, “You know the men were rather despondent before you came but they seem a lot better now. You seem to have a quality about you that brings out the best in people. Keep it in,” she warned him when he tried to take it out. “Don’t abuse their trust and they will back you all the way to hell itself if need be.” She took the thermometer out and checked the temperature. “I don’t think we need to check your core temperature do you?” She smiled mischievously when he shook his head.

  “I’m not going to lead them into anything dangerous if I can help it.”

  “I know you wouldn’t but I don’t want you to die for want of asking for help.”

  “Trust me, I’ll die in the arms of a beautiful women...”

  Tasha put her hands on her hips. “Don’t finish that sentence soldier.” He looked bashfully away “I think you’re fine. You had better get to work before the General decides to demote you.” She gracefully slid off the bed and moved down the corridor. She glanced back once before she disappeared from his sight.

  A laugh erupted behind Gabriel making him jump. He turned and found Jack standing behind him and realized just how big the man really was.

  Gabriel felt almost like a child beside the mountain of a man. Every part of Jack was muscle and three times the size of Gabriel’s own body. A head higher and the man could almost pass for a goblin especially with his dark skin. A classic pirate beard covered the lower half of his face in wavy black lines and almost to complete the picture he had an axe strapped to his back. The entire surface of the axe was covered in rust except the edge which was newly sharpened. It may once have been a butterfly axe but it had lost one of its blades and to maintain balance a crude metal pickaxe blade had been welded onto the other side.

  Jack slapped Gabriel hard on the back and winded him. “You’re in love, don’t deny it.”

  Gabriel waived a negative answer and got a fresh dose of laughter. “Come on we’ve got work to do. If you want a woman you have to be able to carry her and I’m not certain you could do that yet.”

  Finally getting air back into his lungs Gabriel changed the subject, “I don’t think that’s a regulation issue rifle Jack.”

  Jack reverently stroked the rusty blade on his back as he made his way towards the exit. “I got her off a goblin twice as big as me. It was a near thing but Betsy was worth it. You should see what people are carrying out there. Without bullets rifles are pretty useless, and even with bullets those goblins take at least a third of a clip before they go down and you know how fast those bastards can move. With Betsy I can take them down when they reach me instead of the other way around.” Gabriel listened to the camp gossip as he followed Jack out of the tent and finally let reality sink in. He was light years away from Earth, in a place where magic and fantasy were real.

  Jack continued oblivious to Gabriel’s reality shock. “I heard there’s a man down at turret six that’s dragging around a club he can’t even lift.”

  CHAPTER 20

  Amelia

  Using the waterways and a royal pass the expedition made good time through the Riverlands. They passed fields full of summer harvest ready for picking, golden grains and emerald green fruit trees lined in rows that disappeared into the distance. Domesticated animals roamed freely among the plants cropping grass, and spared little attention to the workers in the fields or the boats passing by. Beneath the boat fish swam in the deep canals, flashing silver and gold as they chased each other in the clear water.

  Laisarus remained by the prow even during the nights when the rain poured down on his patchwork cloak and lightning flashed across the sky in the last of its summer fury.

  Amelia sat beneath the canopy of the boat fidgeting. Between the stern Tagier who answered questions curtly and made no attempt at conversation and Carthus who seemed far too interested in her, she decided to talk with Laisarus.

  She made her way forward, making no sound that she noticed but when she reached him he turned and drew back his hood. She was expecting a face made harsh by a soldier’s life like Tagier but she was met with a smile that comforted her.

  She asked him tentatively, “Why do you always stay out here instead of in the shelter?”

  He turned to hide his face but answered her after a moment. “I was raised in a forest settlement. Open sky, trees and rivers were the places I played when I grew up. The palace felt cold and empty to me. I couldn’t stand the closeness anymore. I hope you can forgive me for keeping to myself.”

  “Of course.” She had been raised in the chaos and routine of an orphan house before being sent to the priestess training school. The thought of months in the wilderness with strangers terrified her. “You said you were born in the forest, you don’t mean the Great Forest do you?” she asked intrigued.

  “Yes, the forest beyond the Barrier. My parents were one of the few that wanted to expand the empire and settle the lands to the north. Or maybe they couldn’t stand civilization either.” He smiled, remembering the small homestead hidden in the treetops where he grew up.

  “Are your parents still there?” she asked.

  Pain crossed his face. “No - the goblins became too powerful and my parents decided for my sake to return across the river but it was already too late. Goblins attacked our settlement and only I and a few other children managed to swim halfway across the Crimson River while our parents died to save us. Tagier was on the Barrier that night but he probably won’t remember. He swam across the river and rescued us one by one from a tree we had managed to reach wedged in the middle of the river. I’ve never seen stamina or bravery like his since.” He paused remembering the cold night, the power of the water trying to drag him under. But it was nothing compared to Tagier’s strength, forcing the river to his will. “He was the reason I joined the guard.”

  “Is the forest as bad as they say?” she asked hesitantly.

  “Yes, it’s dangerous. The forest is completely controlled by the goblin clans now. As far as I’ve ranged they have settlements. What they send against the barrier is nothing of their true might, a way of blooding their youngest warriors. But they are not the only things to worry about,” he answered turning back to face her.

  “What else is there?”

  “There are wolves like we have in our forests and then there are wolven. Some are almost twice the weight of an elf, they move faster than us and are possibly more cunning. They hunt in packs during the win
ter forcing the goblins south. They’ve never attacked me but I’ve felt them following me on more than one winter night.”

  Amelia looked towards the barrier trees still far in the distance trying to imagine the forest beyond.

  Laisarus watched her for a moment then asked, “Why are you here?”

  Amelia was confused by the question but answered anyway, “The High Priestess ordered me to come, I am a servant of Gaia, my path is hers to choose.”

  “I’m not questioning your faith Amelia, I know why you came but do you know why you were chosen and not a priestess with years of training.”

  Her mouth opened but she had no answer to give, so she decided to change the subject, “Why are you here?”

  “Gaia asked me,” he answered without hesitation.

  She thought he was joking but the way he said it made her believe him. She decided to confide in him, “The High Priestess called me to her private garden and told me that my purpose would be the greatest and the hardest in the expedition. She said that for the sake of our people I had to go and no one else could take my place. I felt as if Gaia had spoken directly into my heart. I don’t know what will happen or what it is I am destined to do, but I will obey.”

  “I believe you Amelia,” said Laisarus holding her shoulder gently. “Now I suggest you get under shelter before the rain catches you.” She heard the approaching rain falling in the distance that only he had picked up and hurried to the shelter as the first drops arrived.

  At the prow Laisarus raised his face to the sky as the rain poured down cleansing away his dark memories and leaving only serenity on his face.

  CHAPTER 21

  General Allister

  General Allister approached the interrogation tent and noticed that the guards had deserted their posts. His eyes immediately began watering as he entered and smoke poured out the open door. Barely able to see he stumbled forward and called out for the commander. His hands finally found a table to hold on to as he began coughing in the foul air. Above him an air vent opened and light came in as the smoke emptied out of the room.

  The General gratefully began to breathe easier until he saw the ruins of a goblin burnt to death on the table in front of him. The urge to vomit overcame him and he threw up on the floor.

  A voice from the far side of the tent said, “General, thank you for coming.”

  The General wiped his mouth clean on a handkerchief and purposely avoided looking at the table again. “You called me here to see this?” he asked angrily pointing to the goblin’s body.

  “Of course not General. I lost track of time and forgot to clean up. This is what I called you to see.” The commander held up a printout that the General could not make out with his watering eyes.

  The General grabbed it and moved across the room to a light to have a better look. He read the first few lines of writing on the page and asked, “What gibberish is this?”

  “I believe the correct term is runes. This is a list of all the runes from the staffs we have collected. Each staff has an almost unique pattern on it but some combinations are repeated on different staffs. This list identifies all the individual runes, several patterns of runes as well as their effects,” explained the commander.

  The General crossed his arms. “Is that supposed to mean something commander, because my patience is beginning to wear thin.”

  “Let me demonstrate General. I have inscribed a simple rune pattern on an amulet and placed what I believe is the power source inside it.” He dug inside his robe and removed a crude metal circle with a small piece of crystal poking out the centre. “This particular rune pattern has been demonstrated by the shamans since the first battle.” Turning to face the table the commander held the amulet by the chain and swirled it in the air, mumbling noises that the General couldn’t make out.

  As sweat beaded on the commander’s brow the General’s patience reached its limit. As he opened his mouth the runes inscribed in the metal began to glow and a green gas spread around the amulet. When the green gas reached the chain, the metal began to sizzle and the amulet dropped to the floor when it snapped. The gas instantly condensed into acid and began eating away at the metal surrounding the crystal.

  The commander wobbled a bit before getting his strength back. “Not quite as impressive as I had hoped but you can see that it is possible to use their magic.”

  “Magic commander. I don’t believe in magic,” said the General placing the printout on a table.

  “Don’t get held up on the name General. It works and with practice and experimentation I believe I can create weapons greater than the goblin staffs. Even a small group of soldiers armed with advanced rune weapons would be a formidable force to be reckoned with. Under your leadership of course.”

  The General twisted his moustache between his fingers. “I admit that I am impressed with what you have accomplished in two days commander. Carry on with your work as you see fit but report any progress to me discreetly.” The commander nodded and the General continued, “I have another problem though, your plan to get rid of Gabriel has gone astray. I want you to arrange for him to man the last truck out of here and make sure he doesn’t make it to Base One.”

  “Of course General,” agreed the commander without a hint of remorse and the General Allister was uncomfortably reminded of the goblin on the table.

  CHAPTER 22

  Carthus

  As the days passed the wind pushed the sailboat steadily closer to the Barrier until finally it could be seen stretching across the horizon like a dark green serpent guarding the Riverlands border. Only one more set of gates remained before the training grounds wharf where they would disembark and the sailboat was beginning to fight the inflow of water from the Crimson River that entered the main channel beneath the Barrier.

  While Carthus studied the others he nursed his knee which was feeling stiff after sitting for so long in one position. His mind recalling everything he had read and heard about them comparing it to what he had learnt during the voyage.

  Tagier the war hero could be counted on when the fighting started but at the moment he seemed distracted. Carthus wondered if he was still going over what the Emperor had told him.

  Carthus had been spying on the Supreme Magi at the Emperors’ insistence and had discovered much in his short time in the palace. Apparently Sceleo had his own spy network and one of his spies was very close to the Emperor. The revelations of what the Emperor had said to Tagier had shocked Carthus. Nobody knew better than Carthus the power of the goblin hordes beyond the Barrier. He had fought them for most of his life and knew they were merely thinning the weakest warriors from their ranks.

  If the elven population was decreasing then the mission was more important than he had realised. The humans had been trusted before but had been tainted by evil and had turned on the elven race. While he knew the details of what had happened and that it had been necessary, even he couldn’t stomach the war that had followed.

  Before he left the palace Carthus had been contacted by a secret organization of mages called the Guardians, formed for the sole purpose of defending the Emperor and his heirs from assassination. They had asked him to watch over Laisarus and Amelia but had not explained why. He had felt the power of the guardian mage and was awed that someone of his rank would talk to him personally. His mere presence also spoke volumes about Laisarus and Amelia. The exact words had been, “Keep them alive at all costs, save one if you cannot save both.” Carthus had asked the obvious question, “Who are they?” but the mage had teleported away without answering.

  He glanced at Laisarus, there wasn’t much in the records about his youth only that he was born and raised beyond the Barrier. Very few of those who had settled beyond the Crimson River had returned which spoke well for his survival instinct. As a guide he would be exceptional as a leader Carthus wasn’t sure yet.

  He watched Amelia when she wasn’t looking in his direction. She was young and inexperienced, but would eventually gain the powe
rs of a priestess. Amelia had no combat experience and was still a novice. She was the weak link in the expedition and would bear watching, she was also the most important if an alliance was to be made with haste.

  The seedling Amelia carried in her pack was a living piece of the nexus tree fashioned by Gaia’s priesthood to communicate over vast distances. It could only be used by a priestess or one in training, draining the energy it needed to survive from contact with the ground and from the power of a priestess. Without her it would dry up and die. Not even his magic could keep it alive. The Emperor was possibly the only non-priestess able to use the nexus trees communication ability within the Riverlands with anyone who carried a piece of the nexus tree and could use it. Carthus decided to watch over her and let Laisarus take care of himself.