Journey to The Far End.

[Xos]

All bunnying preapproved, owning both characters in this quest.
Scara Brae, his life in Althanas had started here, and an important journey was starting here. But Xos didn’t mind, Journeys made life interesting. Naught but two short weeks ago he was in Alerar, buying himself some new robes to replace his one old one. It had been the victim of a sewer system. Not even a passing witch woman and her magic soap had been able to clean Xos’s robes.

So, here he was, his brown hair shining in the sun, his brown eyes full of confidence. His robes were white, and decorated with a variety of symbols, some arcane, some scientific. What made his robes special was the fact that the symbols blended and merged, signifying his power lay in Magiscience, neither magic, nor science in and of itself, but more powerful than either alone being the child of both.

Xos toyed with a gold ring on his finger, inlaid with a diamond, a ruby, a sapphire, and an emerald. It was the reason for this journey. The shopkeeper from whom he bought his outfit heard a rumor about a temple hidden in the mountains that could fix his broken ring. Something told Xos it wasn’t going to be as easy as going to Scara Brae, and asking nicely. But that was alright, he had his wife with him.

Her name was Valanthe, and she was half Alerarian Drow, and half Raiaeran wood elf. As such she had white hair, and brown skin. She wore a green Vlince robe trimmed with gold. She was a Druidess and wise in the ways of nature.

Xos sighed to himself, and stepped off the docks and onto the streets of Scara Brae. They had a Pagoda here he wanted to challenge sometime, but now was not that time. He wasn’t even sure of what all he could do. While at the same clothing store that sent him here, he discovered his powers had grown, and he could accomplish new feats of magic, but he hadn’t yet dared to try his new powers out yet to see exactly what he could accomplish.

He looked around, and found a tour guide that looked helpful, so he stepped over to the confident seeming young man. He was dressed in black breeches and a white shirt, looking rather hot in the day’s weather.

“Good morning sir, I heard a rumor about a temple known for it’s skill in enchanting objects, and was wondering if you could direct me to it.” Xos said in a pleasant tone that spoke of his desire to find the temple.
“Ahh yes, I have heard such rumors as well. I believe they are referring to the Xing Ling Monastery in the Windlacer peaks.” The young man said with a cracking voice. Clearly he had not yet passed puberty.

“Thanks!” Xos said and ran off to get on his way.

“Wait!” the young man called out, but it was too late.
“I was going to tell him Xing Ling had been destroyed awhile back in a surprise goblin raid.” He said apologetically to his boss nearby.

[Valanthe]

Valanthe stepped off the boat and onto the docks, glad to be ashore. As of late, she began to feel uncomfortable, around anyone. When Xos first returned, it was easy to keep him at bay, he smelled like an open cesspit, but he fixed that, and now she couldn’t keep him away. Her experiences at The Nameless City horrified her, and it seemed, changed something within her. No, it took something from her, innocence. Many speak of losing their innocence during certain events, and she had experienced some of those experiences elsewhere, but simply accepted them as apart of life.

Knowing that Nothingness actually existed, experiencing it first hand, knowing the unnaturalness of it all, it frightened her to think that someone, somewhere could simply will her to disappear. She wasn’t sure why she agreed to come with Xos, only that despite wanting to be alone, she still wanted comfort.

She looked at the skyline of the city, a collection of roofs, chimneys, and the occasional tower. A few random people were darting about the rooftops, trying not to be seen, daring daylight robbers confident in their skill. Here and there children darted about playing what Valanthe assumed to be a simple game of tag. People moved about, some hitting the market stalls on the docks, others moving freight about, and still others were disembarking.

She was a ways behind Xos, and so didn’t hear what he was asking the teenager, nor the teenagers reply. Xos had run off toward windlacer peaks, apparently having forgotten about his wife. Did he care about her? Did he really love her? Their marriage had been forced on them when they switched to Omniisim. A one night stand broke the rules and they woke up married. Apparently because they used each other as husband and wife once, so then would they forever be. Omni was very strict about certain rules.

In her minds eye she saw Kajeenith walking along side her, his white hair and skin glistening in the sun, his black leather absorbing the light. It was his black lips that made one realize Kajeenith wasn’t black and white, he simply lacked color altogether. He seemed like a bad illusion, fading in and out of being and static running across his body. But that was the way he was. And his voice, so hollow, devoid of any positive emotion, desiring only destruction, it was frightening.

“He doesn’t really love you, you know. You were a one night stand, a mistake. Your marriage is a sham.” She heard him saying.
Tears welled up in her eyes, feeling the truth in those words.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he cheated on you in Kessingale, after all, how would you ever find out? To think all this time you’ve been faithful, and he hasn’t.” Kajeenith continued.
Her bottom lip quivered.
“I wouldn’t bring it up, he’s a man, and we’re all shallow disgusting pigs. There isn’t a drop of depth to us. We’ll do what we want and deny any wrong doing to the end, and then get hurt when you don’t believe us.” Kajeenith said, disappearing out of her minds eye.
Overcome with emotion, Valanthe sat on a public bench and began to cry.

[Xos]

Xos distantly heard Valanthe crying, and stopped cold. Why in the world could she be crying? He never heard Valanthe cry before, and it troubled him to do so now. Part of him though felt angry at her for delaying his quest, because now he was obligated to go back and take care of her. Xos could almost imagine what Kajeenith would say.
“How dare she get angry now!” Kajeenith said in an angry voice.
Xos’s hands tightened into fists and released themselves.
“Doesn’t she know we need to get going?” Kajeenith asked, tapping his foot impatiently.
Xos hated this scene in movies and novels, where the leading couple, supposedly in love, is forced to stop and take a break at an inopportune moment because the woman, and it’s always the woman’s fault, chooses that exact moment to have an emotional breakdown and cry about how the relationship is in trouble. Xos hated dealing with women sometimes; they could always get so needlessly emotional. Why couldn’t they just let logic lead them instead of emotion? He wanted to slap her for this.
“Yes, go give her something to cry about. You know she won’t tell you anyway, and all these precious minutes will have been wasted.” Kajeenith said, fading away.
Xos clenched his fists, and walked back towards Valanthe, he wanted to go so bad, and she chose now to raise a problem? Why not when they were stuck on the boat? Why not after their initial reunion? Why here, in Scara Brae, when they were so close? Why did she have to make him so angry?

If Xos were any less honorable, his emotions might’ve gotten the better of him, but as a man of logic, he realized on the way there that hitting her was only going to make things worse, and he really did care for Valanthe, so he reigned in his anger, and let it go, took a deep breath, and unclenched his fists before he got to Valanthe.

“What’s wrong dear?” he asked in a compassionate voice as he sat down next to her.

He really wanted to get going, he really wanted to be on their way. He hoped it wouldn’t take long.

[Valanthe]

Valanthe noticed approach, and hid all signs of any problems before he got there.
“Nothing dear, I simply thought that since it was late afternoon we’d simply stay here tonight and leave again in the morning.” She said with the best smile she could manage.
“Oh, ok.” Xos said, and got up again to go find them a room for the night. She could tell he was upset that she didn’t tell him what was going on, but he wouldn’t understand.

Who would? She was lonely for one night and was trapped now. How could she tell him what she felt? During their short separation when they went on separate adventures, she couldn’t stop thinking about the circumstances of their marriage.

Did Xos love her? Did he even care? He asked what was wrong, but was that out of obligation alone, or was there genuine interest behind those words? She didn’t know, and her lack of knowledge hurt her deeply. Growing up as a little girl, she always dreamed of a perfect loving marriage to a wonderful caring man, but here she was with a lie.

For that matter, did she love Xos? She didn’t even know. Part of her cared for him, but was that out of marital obligation, or was it genuine? What about his hopes and dreams? How many did she crush, now that she was tied to him as his wife? Did he want to settle down so soon? She certainly didn’t. But, they were married now, and sham or not, they had to have children, it was just how things were. It was always how she was taught growing up. Once people got married, they settled down somewhere and had children.

Valanthe was lost, and desperately seeking answers. She appealed to the Omni for help, but all she got back in return was the gentle compulsion to share her thoughts and feelings with Xos. But she couldn’t, she just knew he wouldn’t understand.

Feeling the weight of despair settle upon her shoulders, she slowly got up and walked over to where she was being waved at by Xos. She didn’t want to be here, she wanted to be far away, and not deal with this, but she had to be here, to support Xos, she was obligated to do so as his wife, she knew that much.

[Xos]

Xos had found them a room in an inn called “The Stumble on Inn”. He waved Valanthe over so he could show her to the room.

“What a waste of time. You could be on the road now. She cries and she doesn’t even tell you why. You’re her husband, isn’t she supposed to trust you with her problems?” Kajeenith was asking, standing by Xos shaking his head sadly. Niether Xos nor Valanthe actually thought that Kajeenith was actually there, only that it was their minds playing tricks on them. Neither knew both were imagining the same thing, Kajeenith casting seeds of doubt on their relationship.

Valanthe came over, trouble etched across her face. Her eyes looked sorrowful, and he knew the heavy mantle of despair was settled about her shoulders from the way they slumped.

“Look, it’s obvious something’s wrong. Why won’t you trust me and share your thoughts with me? I can’t help you if you won’t talk to me.” He said soothingly, trying to get the answers out of her.

Valanthe looked at him for a moment, and then sighed.
“You never did tell me what happened in Kessingale when you went home, only that you had returned home briefly.”

“Hah! She’s ignored you altogether. Better not tell her the truth about your one night stand, besides, she couldn’t possibly know the truth anyway, Kessingale is in another universe entirely. There’s no way she could find out. Then maybe she’ll put this business of relationships behind her.” Kajeenith said, disappearing.

I don’t know what to do Omni, I need help.

A memory surged from the forgotten depths of Xos’s past. He was but five and his four parents had just had a big argument in front of him, about him. He didn’t remember what the argument was about, but he asked one important question anyway.
“If you knew the truth was going to be hurtful and cause an argument, why did you even tell it in the first place? I thought you loved each other.” Xos inquired.
“Xos, being honest with your partner, or if you marry a woman, your wife, is very important. If your can’t be truthful and faithful to another, then your not a very good husband or domestic partner to begin with. Remember, the truth will set you free, even if it means paying for the truth.”

Xos shook his head, and came back to the present.

“I went home, graduated Kessingale University and can now introduce myself as Dr. Xos, and, I met an old friend. I discovered Kaessingale was dying, and that as Merlin’s eldest male descendant, I’ve inherited his broken ring I now wear. But, that’s all a story for another time. I need to be honest and admit something. The old friend I met, I’ve known her since I was a boy, and she’s regarded as the most beautiful woman in Kessingale. I thought Althanas was a dream that it wasn’t real, and, I slept with her.” Xos said, admitting the plain truth.

That night, Xos felt like the world’s most terrible villain, for his admission of the truth had set Valanthe to crying. The couch was uncomfortable, but nothing was as bad as listening to his own wife cry quietly to herself in the bed on the other side of the room.

He looked idly at his ring, and wondered if it would all be worth it.

[Valanthe]

“I slept with her.” The words sent Valanthe crying into the room, locking it behind her.

Valanthe considered herself an even headed woman, and never compared herself to others, but she needed desperately for everything to work out, for her marriage to be a success, and not a failure. Thus it happened that for the next few hours she was busily checking herself for any sign of a flaw in the mirror, wondering how she could possibly compare to “the most beautiful woman in Kessingale.”

“I told you he didn’t love you. I told he didn’t care about you. You know, I bet it was the extra inch you put on, and your hair is only shoulder length, you should grow it out more. Maybe you’ll keep the next one,” Kajeenith said, now apart of her reflection, appearing to be standing behind her.
“Next one?” Valanthe asked through her tears.
“Of course, why are you still here, still with Xos? It’s clear this marriage is a sham that can’t be saved. Declare it over and walk out on him.” Kajeenith said, stepping off to the side and disappearing from the reflection entirely.

This was a question Valanthe pondered all night long without arriving at an answer.

Xos and Valanthe left the city in silence, or, rather Valanthe did, she followed him without knowing why, but refused to give him the time of day.

That night, they had only made it half way to the temple, and Valanthe decided to go relax by herself in a pool of water. Naked, she swam around on the surface, and dived under briefly, before coming up behind a small waterfall. She had long since stopped crying, and only the hurt remained.

“So, what are you going to do, follow a man you neither love nor care for to the ends of the earth to keep up the charade of a successful marriage?” Kajeenith asked standing on a nearby rock on the other side of the waterfall.

Valanthe walked through the waterfall, and turned her back to the shore, neither noticing, nor caring if anyone was watching her.
“Your right, dear thayne your right, my marriage is a sham, started by an accident. Why couldn’t I just control myself for one night? Now I’m trapped in a loveless marriage with a man I neither love nor care for, nor does he love or care for me. We’re strangers to one another, how could either of us have been so foolish as to believe we could make this work? Now I’m following him to some forsaken temple in the middle of nowhere, and for what? What do I possibly stand to gain from this stupid quest of his anyway? No more, he cheated on me, what more proof could I need that this just someone’s idea of a bad joke? I might as well leave and declare this comedy routine over, because I’m not taking part in it anymore.” She said, tears streaming down her eyes. Kajeenith disappeared, smiling.

“Valanthe above you!” came Xos’s shout from the shore.

Valanthe looked up just in time to see a large boulder, precariously perched, come tumbling down into the water. She was trapped, and she was doomed, it was going to fall right on her. An energy shield flickered above her, and deflected the rock just enough that it landed in front of her, trapping her in the small group of rocks in the lake she was in.

Suddenly she was grateful Xos was there, otherwise she would’ve been dead now. But, why did he save her?

“I’m coming for you Valanthe.” Came his voice, she heard him splashing across the lake. He hadn’t abandoned her for a moment, yet here she was ready to abandon him, she felt immensely guilty, and wondered again why she was coming all this way with someone she neither loved nor cared for, and realized she was wrong all along, she did care for Xos, at least as a friend, and genuinely wanted to see him succeed in his quest to restore his ring.

[Xos]

Xos knew Valanthe had been gone for awhile, when he suddenly got the irresistible urge to go check on her.

Cases abound in many places for and wide, across many worlds of inexplicable moments when one person had the unusual urge to go somewhere, and when they did, arrived just in time to save someone’s life. In places without magic, these cases are often left unexplained, as Science cannot accept anything it cannot verify. For Science there is no valid reason why one person a mile away should suddenly desire to run off to a nearby forest only to find a tree had just fallen, and someone urgently needed there help. At least, not according to anything the science of many worlds understands presently.

Yet, on worlds of magic, and to those who believe in higher powers, such things are far easier to grasp and explain. To them, it is either wild magic, or a miracle. Once Xos arrived to find his wife in the nude and telling the wall what her problems really were, Xos took it as a miracle that Omni wanted his marriage to work out and thus brought him here to hear something he ordinarily would not. Yet an unknown something, perhaps a second miracle, or the real reason for the first, something drew his eyes upward to see a large boulder finally give in to the erosion around it and come tumbling down.

Xos shouted warning, but it was too late. Reacting instinctively, he threw up an energy shield above her. It didn’t deflect the rock entirely, but it did keep it from hitting her. Now she was trapped. Xos quickly shed his garments and went splashing out to her, a fact he repeated as he went. His first thought was that she was trapped and needed rescuing. Yet upon seeing her clear of danger, the second thought that ran through his mind was that know was his only chance to truly weigh in with his thoughts and feelings on their marriage.

“Xos, I can’t move this alone, help me!” Valanthe pleaded.
“In a minute, since you’re not in any real danger, there’s something I need to say first, and I’m going to say while I know you can’t run away from it, or deflect it. Our marriage may not have had the best start in the world, but it started. I’m going to assume that being all knowing; Omni wouldn’t just force two people so totally wrong for each other without any chance of a successful marriage together. Secondly, while it does hurt to know you don’t love for me, I’m shocked you don’t even think of me as a friend, but at the same time, I’m not surprised either. Look at how little time we’ve spent together since we’ve been married. For Omni’s sake, is it any wonder I forgot our marriage and slept with a woman I’ve known for years? We’re practically strangers, I agree, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get to know each other. If you really think this entire marriage is a joke somehow, you must have either one very twisted sense of humor, very little faith in Omni’s competence, or both. I’ve read marriage vows, and they don’t say anything about quitting if it gets hard. They often mention death as the only force capable of legitimately ending a marriage and sticking it out through the hard times. I’m not saying everything’s your fault, I haven’t been around very much either, and neither of us has been trying very hard. So before you run away, please, stick around and give us one more chance. Perhaps if we actually got to know each other, we’d find there was actually some substance to this marriage of ours.” Xos lectured, giving his entire viewpoint on the situation with their marriage.

[Valanthe]

Valanthe listened to Xos’s words feeling guiltier by the second. How could she have been so selfish, thinking only of her thoughts and feelings? How could she have not stopped to consider what the very man she accused of being uncaring may have actually felt, or stopped to ask him what he felt? She thought back to those moments, and wondered if Kajeenith’s words really were a product of her own imagination, attempting to foist the guilt off to someone else, or if he was really there.

“Xos, I was wrong. No love, not yet at least, but I do care, as a friend. Why else would I follow you to this forest, when I have nothing to gain from the trip but sore feet? Now, I promise, I won’t run away, but please, help me move this boulder; nothing like a close encounter with your untimely death to make you stop and reconsider what you really feel.” She said, barely able to hold herself together.

After moving the boulder, a feat which greatly tired both parties, and making their way back to shore, Valanthe was unable to hold herself together any longer, and throwing her arms around Xos, held him close, as she cried on her shoulder. All the confusion, all the guilt, all the anger, it was all being washed away with her tears. Letting go only long enough for both parties to redress, they held each other through the rest of the night as the stars passed by on their endless journey through the sky.

The next day, Valanthe walked rather close to Xos. At first she thought it was because of the events of the night before, but as the day progressed, it was evident that it was because this part of the forest was completely silent. Not a sound stirred from the bushes, not sign of life moved in the distance. Even the trees seemed dead. A sign lay dead on the ground, pointing towards the dead forest.

“Xing Ling Monastery” it read.

“What manner of monks lives in a dead place? Xos, I’m not sure this is the right path, this forest is completely dead, and not even the spirit of nature dwells here. The trees do not decay or rot, the wind does not stir, and the pleasant fragrance of the wildflowers does not reach here. No mushrooms grow, no insect moves about, no birds nest or frolic, no deer or squirrel plays among the trees, nothing. Even the light has difficulty shining here. It is as if it is frozen in time at the point of death, preventing the natural cycles of life from progressing onward.” Valanthe spoke in a hushed voice. She wasn’t quite sure why she was so quiet, but on reflection, she found she was afraid that whatever had caused this still lurked about somewhere.

She almost lost her breakfast as the stench of unwashed flesh hit her nose. Her eyes watered, and she frequently gagged when she accidentally breathed through her mouth, as the smell was so bad she could taste it.

She caught sight of the monastery ahead, and saw an encampment of goblins milling about it, apparently picking over whatever hadn’t been pillaged in what appeared to be a surprise raid.

[Xos]

Xos looked around the area, holding his nose.

“Definitely unnatural, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the work of magic. Strong death spells can hold back the natural cycles of nature, interrupting the normal progression of Life and Death. I wouldn’t have thought goblins capable of pulling off something as strong as this though. It might be just as likely though that it was a simple enchantment in their weapons. Either way, its bound to fade with time, it’s not that powerful a spell, if it was, then the whole island would be affected, and not just this little area, unless it was highly concentrated, but if it was, we’d feel its effects for certain.” Xos said, explaining away the mystery of the situation.

Xos spotted a small map leaning against an overturned table that had been dragged outside sometime earlier.

“See that map over there? It’s likely the monks knew this was going to happen and left before it did. But I can’t get it. Could you maybe turn into a rat and go get it?” Xos asked.

[Valanthe]

“Stay here no matter what.” She ordered.

Valanthe knelt, and turned into a large brown rat. Scurrying through the bushes, she dragged the map behind the table, and did her best to roll it up.

“Hey, mousey stealing Grunk’s treasure map!” a goblin said.

Valanthe took off running, but her way was blocked by three goblins wielding large clubs. She had no choice, and ran off towards the table again. It got overturned and thrown off to the side.

Deciding that the mouse was too slippery for just three goblins, more joined the chase, thinking it was all just a game. Valanthe’s little rat heart beat in fear as she dodged under a shield which got lifted and taken away. She wanted Xos by her side, and wished she hadn’t ordered him to stay put.

Spotting a crack in the wall, she ran towards it, just barely dodging a thrown club and a pair of hands. However inside the wall was not that much safer, as it lead directly to a large room full of more goblins, including one dressed in feathers and skulls.

“FOREST WITCH! FOREST WITCH!” the goblin in feathers and skulls screamed pointing at Valanthe.

“SHE GOT GRUNK’S TREASURE MAP!” the same goblin from before screamed.

Valanthe scurried under the tables and between feet, getting kicked a couple of times. She squeezed under a broken door and looked around. It was full of loose boards, broken cups and plates, fallen ceiling portions and assorted empty crates. Plenty of hiding spots for a rat. She scurried into the pile and disappeared as the room was broken into.

Valanthe moved closer to the back wall as the pile was cleared away. It wasn’t a game any longer, the goblin in the feathers and skulls convinced them she was going to be the death of them all if she wasn’t captured.

Valanthe discovered a hole she could barely squeeze through, and squeezed into it, getting stuck half way through. She jerked and struggled, and forced her way out of the hole on the other end, and popped out of the wall on the outside.

She ran the long way around the castle as Goblins ran out to the area looking for her, moving cautiously.

Time was ticking away, she couldn’t keep rat form any longer, and she was getting close to Xos. Then she felt her form beginning to slip. Seconds later, she was back in her normal form, running for dear life towards her husband.

A Goblin got out his crossbow, and fired an arrow at her, which the feathered goblin lit on fire with a spell as it flew. Valanthe didn’t know it was coming.

[Xos]

Xos stood, and took a couple of steps forward when the goblins started chasing Valanthe in rat form. Then he realized that his interference would do her no good.

“I thought she was your wife, Xos. Don’t you love her enough to go save her? You’re a mighty wizard; you can take out groups of goblins at once.” Kajeenith said, appearing by Xos in his imagination again.

“Ever the bringer of doubt, now you’re actually encouraging me to run in there; am I out of my mind?” Xos asked, still under the impression it had only been his own thoughts speaking in Kajeenith’s form. He wondered over the course of a second, if other people occasionally imagined N’jal, or a demon doing the same thing in their minds.

“Bringer of doubt? You wound me to believe me so one dimensional. No, I simply want to cause misery in your life and distract you from what you’re supposed to be doing, if you die early, then so much the better.” Kajeenith said, but used his will to keep Xos from hearing it.

Kajeenith removed himself from Xos’s mind, and Xos believed he had gone away. In truth the dark god sat on a tree stump, and watched Valanthe run by. He smiled as a shot from a goblin went wide, even though the goblin shaman had used magic on it. He pushed his finger at it, and though his finger and the arrow never touched, the arrow was moved to a far more accurate trajectory all the same.

“Let us take this game a little farther, dear friends. I’m going to enchant these goblins, making their aim absolutely perfect, their arrows inexhaustible, their weapons indestructible, and you’re going to run like a pair of rabbits. It shall be amusing, will it not? Oh yes, can’t forget our dear friend the goblin Shaman, I think I’ll give him the energy of a thirty man wizard’s coven. Certainly not limitless, but far more than this brute could think of to use in one lifetime.” Kajeenith said. He swept a single gloved hand across the group, and it was so. Suddenly each goblin had the aim of a legendary archer, and their weapons seemed to be made of Adamantine. The Goblin Shaman looked about as he felt great amounts of energy filling him, trying to figure out where it came from.

Kajeenith sighed, as he realized the goblins were to stupid to concentrate on more than one thing at a time, and his enchanting them had distracted them. He appeared before them, as one of them.

“Der getting away wif da treasure map!” Kajeenith said as though he were any other goblin. His words seemed to put them back on track, and they all rushed around him. He turned and trotted along behind, slowly disappearing, and once hidden from their sight once more, resumed his normal form and walked along, whistling merrily as though it were a grand day.

Meanwhile, once Valanthe had resumed normal form, Xos couldn’t help but smile as the map was still in her mouth. Then he saw the flaming arrow coming for the back of her head, and his eyes went wide. He threw up an energy shield behind her, grabbed her hand, and ran, not even caring that the shield was shattered by a rain of arrows. He used Arcane Blast on a particularly rotten tree and it fell over in defeat, blocking the path behind them.

[Valanthe]

Arrows whizzed by Valanthe’s head as she and Xos dodged arrows flying around them.

“By the Green Grove what happened to them? It’s only because we’re in a forest ducking behind trees that they haven’t hit us yet.” Valanthe yelled breathlessly as they ran, the map tucked inside her robes.

She pointed blindly behind her as they approached a boulder, and cast Shrapnel Bomb on the group. She pushed Xos behind the boulder and hid behind it as the spell went off, showering the area with Shrapnel. Howls of pain went up from the group, and she tugged Xos into action again.

She spared a glance back behind her to see the shaman healing the goblins with a powerful spell. She shot a lightning bolt at him to by them some time.

“This isn’t natural, Goblins don’t suddenly become unholy terrors for no appearent reason, and shouldn’t that shaman be low on magic by now?” Xos asked as he gained enough of a breath to voice his question. He cast Arcane blast on a nearby tree, causing it to fall into the path behind them, tripping some goblins up.

An arrow came flying at Valanthe’s neck, and Xos bent space to make it zoom between them and into a tree trunk.

“Omni, help us!” Valanthe cried out.

Thunder rolled out of a clear sky, and both Xos and Valanthe got the feeling that help was at the bottom of the mountain, and that Omni had nothing to do with it being there, it happened to already be there for reasons of its own.

Xos could see what it was.

“A…detachment…of…armed knights…stands at…the bottom…of the hill!” he panted between breaths.

[Xos]

An arrow hit Xos in the arm as they ran. He cried out, but no sound came as an invisible something choked the air out of him.

He stumbled and caught sight of the Shaman casting a spell on both him and Valanthe as he fell.

Merlin’s journals spoke of a concept called Anti-magic. A force of the powers of Law, Anti-magic prevented magical items from being cast within its field of effect. He could bend space, but could he stop magic? He concentrated on the shaman, willing all magic to stop within his immediate vicinity. He felt his magic move within him, and shimmers in the air around the shaman told of his success. He felt his lungs working again, and he looked over at Valanthe to discover a she-wolf crouching near him protectively.

A large blast knocked all the goblins about as metal clad men rushed around Xos and Valanthe. A wizard stooped to help Xos up.

“Are you two okay? I sensed magic being used in the area, and used a spell to see what was happening. I’m glad we were close by.” The elderly man said as Xos got to his feet.

More arrows rushed towards them, but the wizard flicked them away with a wave of his hand.

A couple of goblins made it around the knights who were busy fighting the rest with their unbreakable weapons. One knight looked up in surprise as his Mythril axe failed to even so much as scratch one goblin’s wooden club.

Xos Threw a Holy Energyball at the nearest goblin, and was rewarded with a deep cut in his side in return. Valanthe snarled and leaped for the throat of another, and was thrown off with a yelp as a club broke her ribs.

The wizard sighed, and cast another spell, turning all three goblins into Holstein Cows.

Meanwhile the Shaman figured out that if he stepped back, he could cast magic.

“The shaman, he has unusual amounts of power.” Xos warned.

“Thank you. I believe I have something to cure that.” The Wizard said, and hurled a black sphere at the goblin. It shattered mid journey, and a specter in black robes wielding an Adamantine Scyth flew at him, while wailing in the manner of banshees. The Shaman turned to run but fell into a black rift that lead to the Anti-firmament, chased by the specter.

At about that same time, the last goblin had fallen to the Scara Brae Knights.

“Now, how about you tell me why Goblins would be chasing down a wizard and his pet wolf.” The captain of the knights said.
“I’m not his pet wolf, I’m his wife.” Valanthe muttered as she reverted back to her normal form.

Xos outlined why they were going towards the Xing Ling Monastery, which drew a look of awe from the wizard accompanying the knights.

“But I still don’t understand why the goblins were suddenly so good.” Xos said as they all retreated down the mountain to set up camp.

“Who knows, this world is full of mysteries.” The captain said.

Later that night, Xos and Valanthe shared the same tent. Their wounds were healed, but Xos would have a scar. The Wizard had only a few minor healing potions at the time. Recounting their days experiences, Xos and Valanthe, enamored of each other slept together for the first time in weeks.