Over the castle’s towers, Maebus plummeted to Earth. His stomach nearly retreated into his chest from the momentum of his free fall. First appearing as specks on the ground, Kelm and Khroy stood stiffly within the Centre Forest below. The Wizard clutched the second extractor, whose beam seemed to be pulling him in. As the forest rushed forward, Maebus closed his eyes against the onslaught to his equilibrium until finally his feet touched the ground. Immediately, he rolled upon his back, taking deep slow breaths to quell his nausea. When he could comfortably open his eyes, he sat up and scanned the surroundings. Within seconds, he appeared to have hurtled through the sky at least a mile from the battle.
“Maebus!” Kelm bellowed running towards him. “Did you see him? Did you see the Warlord?” The Wizard’s features were pinched with anxiety.
Maebus placed the extractor back into his pocket. “Only from a distance,” he replied, extending a hand to Kelm. With a heavy groan, the Wizard pulled him to his feet.
“Damian’s men won’t be far behind us. We’ll need to hurry if we’re to make it to the passageway,” Kelm said.
“They’re already en route. From the air, I saw them take off.”
“Then we should take off,” Khroy stated, pulling the reins of three new horses he had brought from the castle stables.
Kelm handed Maebus a long robe, similar to those he and Khroy were wearing. “We’ll need to travel inconspicuously. Put this on over your armor for now,” he instructed.
Maebus removed his helmet and quickly slipped on the baggy apparel.
“Good,” Kelm said, inspecting the outfit. “We should be able to pass as simple travelers now.”
Khroy gave the reins of two chestnut mares to him and Kelm. Maebus’ steed was nearly twice the size of Nightly, with long, powerful muscles and fiery eyes. Her sides heaved with deep breaths.
He swore his horse growled as he tried to greet it. “And these are from the castle?” Maebus’ was slightly concerned.
“These are the fastest horses in the kingdom,” the Commander replied. “They’ve been magically enhanced.”
“Being that we’re here now, I take it things have gone according to plan?”
“Indeed. The Council has fled south. I gave them what you asked of me,” Khroy responded.
“And the Realmsic Crystal, did you secure it?” Maebus’ stomach clenched as he awaited Kelm’s answer.
“I did!” he replied, proudly patting his chest. “So far, your plan is working. All have been successfully extracted and, once we arrive at the passageway, I’ll signal for the remaining army to disperse.”
“How greatly we underestimated this enemy,” Maebus shook his head. “Even with all of our preparation, a strategic retreat was ultimately our only viable option.”
Neither Khroy nor Kelm responded. Silently, they mounted their horses. The chestnut mare whined at the sound of faint rustling in the bushes behind them.
“What was that?” Kelm asked scanning the tree line.
“Trouble,” Khroy instantly stated.
A silver panther leapt towards them like a vicious monster. Withdrawing his weapon, Khroy jumped from his horse. Instinctively, he swiped at the creature with his sword. Maebus and Kelm tried to regain control of their startled horses. The panther dodged Khroy’s blow, scattering dirt into the air as it slid to a stop. The panther’s solid yellow eyes trained upon Khroy. Its razor claws dug into the ground. A thunderous growl rumbled from its muscular throat as it assumed an attack stance with its back arched, baring its sharp teeth.
“We can take this beast!” Khroy boomed.
At that moment, a trio of Legionaries emerged from the tall bushes behind the panther. Their eyes were as deadly as the beast’s. With sweaty faces, and hands tightly brandishing blood-stained swords, they targeted Khroy like hawks circling prey.
Kelm discharged a hand-blast that knocked one of the Legionaries flat on his back. Khroy swung at another soldier. “Get out of here!” he yelled to Maebus and Kelm. “I’ll hold them off.”
“We’re not leaving you!” Maebus retorted.
“I’ll be right behind you.”
“No!” Maebus shouted, riding over to him.
“Go!” Khroy smacked the horse’s flank before Maebus could fully dismount. He barely had time to regain his grip as his horse bolted. He whipped wildly from side to side as the horse accelerated through the woods.
“Hang on!” he heard Kelm’s voice shouting from behind. A glimpse back is all Maebus could steal without falling off. The silver panther had leapt in pursuit, Kelm trailed further behind, but Khroy could not be seen.
Galloping through the woods at breakneck speed, Maebus struggled to maintain his balance on the powerful steed. To Khroy’s credit, it was indeed faster than any he’d ever ridden. He heard Kelm frantically whipping the reins of his own horse, trying to catch up. From the corner of Maebus’ eye, he saw Kelm align just slightly to his right.
“Hold on,” the Wizard yelled.
“What do you think I’m doing?”
“Look out!” Kelm shouted.
A low-hanging branch appeared in their path like a stationary cudgel. They ducked. Losing his grip, Maebus slipped from the saddle. Gripping the reins with one hand, his feet dangled, scraping trails of dust from the ground. Maebus kicked frenziedly, trying to get his foot back into the stirrup. Kelm rode up beside him.
“This horse is too fast,” Maebus yelled.
Holding up his hand, which glowed with a luminous green light, Kelm stirred the air. “Up!” he spelled.
An invisible force pushed Maebus upright. Immediately, he gripped the reins with both hands. “Thanks!”
Glancing behind, he spotted the panther gaining momentum. Its vigorous limbs propelled the beast like an archer’s arrow. Even as they increased their speed, the silver panther nipped dangerously at their heels.
In one bounding stride, it pounced to a high branch.
“He’s going up!” Maebus warned.
“I see him.”
Just as the panther sprang forward, Kelm produced a flash that stunned the beast. Temporarily blinded, it smacked into the trunk of a large tree.
“He’s down!” Kelm rejoiced.
“Not quite,” Maebus called out. Looking back, his head violently jerked from the steed’s booming strides. But through his blurred vision of trees, he saw the beast hastily recover and resume pursuit.
Kelm fired several more hand-blasts, but the panther appeared ever more agile and streaked around each shot. Bounding forward, it sprang past Kelm.
“He’s on your tail!” Kelm bellowed. His voice was tight with anxiety.
“I lost him! Where did he go?” Maebus’ gaze darted from one side to the other, re-discovering the beast only a few feet from his horse. “Never mind, I see him!” Reaching under his robe, he pulled the extractor from his leather belt pocket. Holding the reins as tightly as he could with one hand, he aimed the device and fired a stream of lightning. His hand hurt from the force of the projectile, which shot inches past the panther and struck a towering tree.
“Kelm, look out!”
With the tree trunk severely damaged by the extractor blast, it began falling towards them. He saw Kelm nestle down into the neck of his horse, galloping faster. At full speed, he overtook the silver panther. An enormous shadow loomed over their heads. Impact was imminent.
“This will be close!” Kelm yelled, drawing out the final word like a wail.
“Hurry!” Maebus called.
The towering tree thudded into the panther as it hit the ground, producing a colossal storm of branches and leaves. They narrowly escaped the tree’s impact themselves.
Maebus shot a look over his shoulder as the animal unsuccessfully tried to claw its way from the tangle of branches. Breathing a sigh of relief, he glanced to Kelm as they sped from the grove, trying to get as far away from the panther as possible.
A half hour later, they were but a short distance away from the secured passage that
would take them to the mountainous Northern Lands. Once there, they hoped to stay secluded in order to reassess the war and re-strategize.
The array of trees thickened as they rode deeper into the Centre Forest. Unsure of who they might encounter, they stayed clear of the main path. Maebus pulled back on the reins to slow his horse. Kelm slowed also when he noticed him farther behind. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“I just need a drink of water,” he replied, reaching for a canteen that was tied to his saddle. He felt the first cool sip awaken his body as if from sleep. Continuing to drink, he observed his surroundings. The sounds of battle could no longer be heard, and the breeze that refreshed his face smelled only of pine. No longer did it contain the aroma of burnt flesh or smoke. He slightly leaned over his saddle to share his canteen with Kelm.
The Wizard took a long, thirsty sip and wiped his mouth. “So what’s the next part of your plan?” he asked, passing the canteen back to Maebus.
“I’m working on it.”
Riding along the overgrown verge of woods, they continually inspected their surroundings, half-anticipating another ambush. But none came.
“I think we’re in the clear now,” Kelm said.
Maebus scanned the oak and pine trees near them. Although unfamiliar with their current location, he agreed that for now, they were safe.
“Are you going to send the signal?” Maebus asked.
“Yes, right now. We’re about an hour from the passage and the Realmsic Army needs fight no longer than they have to.”
The Wizard stopped his horse and pulled the extractor from his pocket.
“My greatest invention yet,” he chuckled. “It runs on root magic.”
Maebus raised an eyebrow.
“Perhaps you missed that class? It’s a powerful type of energy that attracts anything similar to its own type. As with all magic, it exists naturally within the Realm, and these devices allow the root magic to be ... configured, to only attach to an identical source. That way, two or more devices can be paired.”
“Waaay over my head, Kelm. But I’ll admit that the force of these devices are surprisingly powerful; enough to lift a body of my size, even dressed in full battle armament.”
“Right. However, if you adjust this knob, you can overcharge the energy to a stable but explosive level.” Kelm thumbed the device, struggling to keep his horse steady.” Pointing the device skyward, he pressed a button. Instantly, a short, quick burst of lightning sprang forward. Together, he and Maebus watched the lightning disappear into the clouds.
“The troops will know what to do when they see it,” he said.
Maebus nodded. “Lets get going, I’ll follow you.”
After one more hour of trekking through the woods, they both arrived at an empty field in the middle of the Centre Forest.
“We’re here,” Kelm said.
“We’re where?”
“The passageway.”
Maebus looked for an entrance of some sort.
With a wave of Kelm’s hand, the ground opened before them, revealing a hidden underground tunnel.
“Amazing!” Maebus exclaimed.
“Didn’t you know?”
“No. I’ve always heard there were no roads leading to the Northern Lands, except for this secret passageway, but I’d never actually seen it before. I assumed it was a well hidden path in the forest.”
“Well, technically, it is a well hidden path in the forest. Its description has always been purposely deceptive. Only a few Realmsic officials know it to be a tunnel.”
“And how do you know about it?”
“After I became Realmsic Advisor, my mom told me.”
As Kelm entered, Maebus hesitated. His eyes lowered.
“What’s the matter?”
“We need to wait for Commander Khroy.”
Kelm bit his lip. “Maebus—” he began, but was quickly interrupted.
“He said he’d be right behind us. He was only buying us time to escape.”
“Okay. We can wait. But I regret that we can only afford a moment.”
They waited in silence for their friend. For what seemed like an eternity, they remained at the entrance. But nobody came.
Kelm put a comforting hand upon Maebus’ shoulder. “Brother,” he said softly. “We must go.”
Tears burned behind Maebus’ eyes as he remembered a poem from his youth:
From what we’ve endured, many hold the belief,
that power can sometimes be found within grief.
Even within the most desperate of times,
faith can help break the most tightest of binds!
Somberly, Maebus grabbed his water canteen and their small bag of food from his horse’s saddle. He and Kelm then released the steeds into the wilderness, and entered the passageway. Behind them, the entrance sealed itself like a tomb.
Chapter Eleven