Wartune

  * * *

  Alkorn met the enemy only once in his journey to the hidden entrance, when a cow-head was thrown into the air and over their thin line of defenses. The nearby guards turned to slay the creature, but Alkorn had already finished the job.

  When they reached the tiny entrance chaos still raged behind them, but unless more surprises appeared it was obvious that the Yaloran forces would be victorious. Alkorn left Erik to oversee the enemy’s final death rattles, and took his closest guards into the mountain.

  They were forced to travel single-file, knights at the front and rear, lancers next to them, mages next and the Alkorn in the middle. The tunnel itself was smooth as tempered glass. The mages had created small balls of fire before they entered, but soon discovered that Alkorn’s new shimmering light reflected off the stone, giving them all the sight they needed. They walked for what felt like a bell until the tunnel finally widened. Along the way they met a few magical traps, but it was nothing that the mages could not handle, and they lost no soldiers.

  Eventually, the tunnel widened, and they traveled in pairs. They met with a group of cow-heads, but ambush was impossible, and Alkorn's soldiers dispatched them easily. Soon afterward the path expanded into a great chamber that towered even beyond Alkorn's light. The mages made use of their fire again, launching waves out into the darkness, but it faded away before striking anything.

  After a short discussion they decided to walk along the outer edge. They left behind a ward to orient themselves, then started to march. They walked for what could have been days before they returned to the ward. The chamber was circular, and had only one entrance. There was only one direction left to go: inwards.

  They began to walk, the mages dropping small balls of light every few hundred steps to keep them going straight. They had placed well over a hundred by the time the mages began to tire, and so they stopped to rest. The battle outside had no doubt long since finished, but Alkorn had left strict orders for no one else to enter. Erik would wait as long as he thought appropriate, and then if they still had not returned he would take the army back to their world, and hope that the time-shift had not left their world in ruins.

  When the mages felt strong enough they packed up and continued on. The ground began to gradually slant downwards. The slant became more prominent until they were doing more climbing than walking. They tried to dig into the ground to make small footholds, but it was too hard, and instead they were forced to scamper along, supporting each other and relying on the mages.

  As gradually as it had begun, it stopped. They continued forward and soon afterward they saw a shining blue light.

  The soldiers thought they were hallucinating, but Alkorn could feel the light calling to him. They drew their weapons, and moved forward until they saw the enemy.

  A lone warrior stood amongst a pile of corpses. He had his back turned towards the Yaloran, and was oblivious to everything but the light in front of him. Alkorn called out.

  The tall, bright creature ignored him at first, and so he called out again and it turned towards him.

  “A mortal… You are the one that has defeated my army, yes?" The creature looks almost excited. "I am known by my brethren as Yaros."