A New Beginning: A Fantasy Adventure (The White Chronicles Book 1) Page 7

  Frank caught one, Vexx caught one, and the third smacked into Kaylin’s face.

  “Ow!” she muttered.

  The merchant frowned. “You, I’m not so sure about. Anyway, until next time,” he said, spurring his horse forward. Kaylin bent down and picked up her coin purse as the wagon rumbled away from its former guards.

  “Good work, newbies,” Frank said. “I’ll travel back to Cloudbury with you if you’re going that way.”

  “We’re not that new,” Vexx protested. “We’re not going back to Cloudbury just yet, anyway. You’ll be on your own.”

  “Oh?” Frank raised his eyebrows. “I don’t mind; I’m just surprised. Are you raiding a dungeon out here?” He paused for a moment. “Ah, well, I won’t pry. I’m not trying to interfere with your quest. Best of luck to the two of you!”

  “Actually…”

  Vexx looked over at Kaylin. She had been counting her coins but dropped one into the dusty road. “Three, four…shit! Where was I…”

  “You know, we could use another fighter.”

  Frank eyed them for a moment and pensively scratched at his scruffy beard. “I can see that. Given that you’re newbies, I would normally charge more for babysitting, but I can see that you have a lead on some treasure. I’m in for a third of the reward.”

  Vexx fixed him with a level stare, letting the insult about babysitting wash over him. There could be a serious fight up ahead, and at least we know this guy can handle himself. “We do. It’s called the Ruby of the Pure. We can do a third once we sell it.”

  “Nuh-uh,” Kaylin cut in, shaking her head. “That doesn’t sound fair. We should do it fifty-fifty-fifty. Tell him, Vexx!”

  Vexx breathed out deliberately and prayed for patience. “Right…sure. Like the lady says. Fifty-fifty-fifty.”

  Frank smirked. “She drives a hard bargain, but I can work with that. Where are we headed?”

  “The ruins of the old Imperial garrison south of here. I have good information on this one.”

  Frank nodded slowly. “I’ve heard stories about that place. It won’t be too easy. And it’ll be night by the time we get there.” He breathed out slowly. “Ghosts and spirits at night?” He shrugged. “Well, no time like the present. Lead on, wizard.”

  Frank and Vexx stood in the silence beside an ancient, half-collapsed chapel on the outskirts of the ruined garrison. They had taken a look inside the ancient chapel, but it had been picked over ages ago. Now they waited near a gap in the broken-down stone wall that ringed the ruins. Kaylin had slipped in to scout a path for them some time ago, but they had heard nothing since then.

  “So, you and Kaylin,” Frank began, then fell silent.

  “Yeah?”

  “Are you two…you know. An item.”

  “Ah…well, no.”

  “I see…”

  The silence lingered.

  “So you wouldn’t mind if I asked—”

  A hiss interrupted them and they looked over as a shadowy figure emerged from over the sloping wall. It waved its hand and a moment later, Vexx recognized her as Kaylin. She had evidently found a good way in. Vexx crept forward, Frank following closely behind.

  “Like I was saying,” he whispered, “you wouldn’t mind—”

  “Let’s just focus on the mission,” Vexx replied, irritated now. Do I mind? He caught a glimpse of Kaylin, her easy smile and smooth skin looking especially beautiful in the moonlight. Vexx smiled in return as he took position beside her, shifting his shoulder in front of Frank.

  “The stories about ghosts don’t appear to be true,” Kaylin said in a soft voice.

  “Or you can’t see them,” Frank said over Vexx’s shoulder. Vexx shifted over more to block Kaylin’s view of him.

  “Did you find the General’s Headquarters? The Ruby of the Pure is said to be kept in a treasure chest inside.”

  “Yes, but I kept my distance. I don’t want to trigger any traps or anything.”

  Frank peeked his head around. “You’re as wise as you are beau—”

  “Let’s go, then!” Vexx snapped, already rising to his feet. “Frank, circle around the left. Kaylin and I will go around from the right.”

  Frank looked like he was about to argue, but after a moment, he nodded. “Fine.”

  Keeping light on their feet, Vexx and Kaylin prowled through the empty dirt alleys, trash and debris that must have fallen centuries ago littered on the ground. There was no saying exactly why these outposts had fallen all that time ago. Vexx supposed it must have once had Imperial relics before other dungeoneers had carted them out.

  Still, the Ruby of the Pure should still be there. I hope.

  “I’m glad we have Frank with us,” Kaylin said after a moment. Her alert eyes scanned for threats as they walked. They were in an open field leading to the General’s Headquarters, with just a couple ruined buildings marring the landscape.

  “Are you?” Vexx asked, surprised at the unexpected bitterness in his words.

  “Yeah! He seems nice.”

  “He’s not that nice,” Vexx muttered, passing through the end of the alley. “I’ve been thinking. Three is a terrible number for having adventures. Maybe after this, we can go back to just the two of us. We could get a nice dinner together from the loot and—”

  “Hey, Vexx?”

  “Uh, yeah?”

  Kaylin had paused, pointing at a glowing symbol, a magical ward mostly concealed by a bush. Vexx whistled at the sight. That was a cunning trap, and they had almost walked into it. An ancient Imperial flagon gleamed in the moonlight, the pristine silver and masterful etchings made a perfect lure for looters.

  “You were right to wait for me. That’s a magic ward,” Vexx pointed out. “You see the glowing symbol? It’s triggered by the central axis, which is right below that flagon there. It uses pressure on that point to turn off and on.”

  “You’re so smart!”

  Vexx grinned. “I was taught the basic principles at the magical academy, but it wasn’t something I specialized in.”

  “Ah…” Kaylin nodded. “So if you just touch this one…” Before Vexx could say anything, Kaylin pressed the indicated symbol. It flashed red for a moment and then disappeared. Vexx saw flashes of red in the distance. Kaylin looked over and smiled. “That turns it off?”

  Vexx gritted his teeth. “No.”

  The ground rumbled below them and a skeletal hand shot out of the ground. Then another, and another. Vexx grabbed Kaylin by the arm and pointed at the headquarters building. “Run!”

  23

  The Imperial Garrison

  Unearthly howls echoed all around the previously abandoned Imperial garrison. A dark figure emerged from a nearby ruin and Vexx almost let out an undignified scream at the sight before he realized it was Frank. Vexx caught other flashes of movement in the distance and ran even faster.

  “What happened?” Frank asked, joining with them as they sprinted to the headquarters building.

  “You must have triggered a ward,” Vexx said in between breaths.

  “To the right!” Kaylin shouted.

  Vexx glanced right, eyes roving over a squad of skeleton warriors marching in formation. The clattering of their bones mixed in with the dull clangs of swords, and as they drew closer, Vexx could smell the musk of their rotting wooden shields. Kaylin loosed a quick arrow, which embedded itself into one of their skulls, but didn’t appear to slow the skeleton warrior down at all. Vexx flung fireball after fireball, but there didn’t seem to be an end to them, and he rejoined the others as they reached the square outside the headquarters building.

  It was already filling with more skeleton warriors.

  The others had demolished a squad of skeleton warriors up close, the enemies deceptively fragile when it came to melee attacks. Frank grimaced, panting as he swiped a finger over the side of his head, cursing as a thin trail of blood dripped dangerously near his eye.

  “We’ll charge our way through!” Frank shouted as he ran forward, grunti
ng as he swept a skeleton warrior off its feet with a low strike. “And barricade the door! With me!”

  “Are you sure?” Vexx asked, then saw that waves of skeleton warriors were approaching from both sides. “Ah, dammit! Kaylin, let’s go!”

  Kaylin had strapped her bow to her back some time ago and was wildly swinging an ancient mace and a rusted sword, both of which she had picked up from fallen skeleton warriors. Another crumbled to pieces before her. Clumsy as she was, with weapons in both hands, it seemed she could hardly miss.

  Side by side, they stormed forward, catching up to Frank. He was barreling through a squad when one of them sliced into his left arm. Vexx blew it to bits with a fireball as Frank struggled forward, taking another stab before Kaylin batted it away with her dual weapons.

  “For…ward,” Frank coughed as he continued to swing his axe. He landed heavy blows on a persistent skeleton as he cleared a way through, fighting his way up the steps toward the General’s Headquarters. A flurry of arrows flew over them as they stormed ahead. Vexx gritted his teeth, wishing he had the strength and money to afford platemail. His robe would be useless against those arrows, and its poison effect wouldn’t do a thing to the undead.

  “We’re almost there!” Kaylin cried out.

  Vexx had turned around, the rear guard now, blasting fireballs at the closest pursuers. “There’s no end to them!” A few of them were archers, loosing arrows that passed just barely overhead, and Vexx favored them with a huge fireball even as he felt his energy draining.

  There was a loud splintering of ancient wood as Frank burst through the door ahead. Kaylin and Vexx followed close behind as the barbarian staggered to the floor, spattering the dusty flagstones with his blood. At least there’s nothing inside—except for a treasure chest! But there’s no time for that now.

  Vexx and Kaylin braced themselves at the door, guarding the narrow entrance.

  “Ah, shit!” Frank yelled. “Healer! I need a heal!”

  “Who are you talking to?” Vexx asked, pausing between throwing fireballs. “I can’t heal you!”

  “Ugh…” Frank rasped out as he sunk to a knee, batting ineffectually at one of the arrows sticking out from his body. “This…went…” he coughed. “Poorly.”

  “On the left!” Kaylin called out, swinging her rusted sword at an approaching skeleton warrior and shattering its skull. The broken bones of a wave of skeleton warriors coated the stairs and empty square outside. But not far away, another marching formation of skeleton warriors was approaching. Vexx slammed the battered door shut, for whatever good that would do.

  “Isn’t there anything you can do for him?” Kaylin asked, crouching beside Frank. “Anything at all?”

  “No,” Vexx said in a low voice, watching as the life faded from Frank’s eyes. “At least…not yet.”

  24

  The Ruby of the Pure

  Vexx wiped sweat off his brow, then raised his hand over the fresh corpse of Frank. Green tendrils of spectral energy flickered down to the fallen barbarian. Kaylin blanched. “I’ll check on the treasure,” she said, before quickly moving away. Vexx swayed from exhaustion, but kept his focus, staring down at Frank.

  Come on, come on!

  Frank’s eyes flicked open, his hazel brown eyes bleeding to a glowing green, and he rumbled something unintelligible.

  “Get up, Frank!” Vexx snapped. “Hold that door.”

  “Mmm…” Frank moaned as he shakily got to his feet, his movements sluggish. “Kay…lin…” he said slowly, as if unfamiliar with language..

  “Hold the door, Frank!” Vexx commanded, sending the symbol through. The door rocked with a sudden impact. The skeleton warriors are just about to bash it open. Zombie Frank stood still for a long moment, then lurched toward the door, hefting his battle-axe. Vexx turned to see Kaylin approaching with a red orb in one hand and a rusted sword in the other.

  “Poor Frank! Well, I guess it’s just fifty-fifty now,” Kaylin said, holding the Ruby of the Pure up high. “Unless zombies get a cut.”

  Vexx grunted, fishing for a mana potion. “Anything else in there?” he asked, popping the cork.

  “That’s it,” Kaylin said. “We got what we came for, but…”

  Vexx chugged the potion, wiping his mouth with his sleeve, and threw the empty glass bottle to shatter on the floor. He didn’t say it out loud, but he knew what she was thinking.

  But we’re trapped in here. Nine out of ten dungeoneers don’t make it past their first ten quests. And here we are at number three.

  “Let’s see, let’s see…” Vexx rummaged through his leather satchel, trying to calm himself and think of a way out. I’m almost out of potions, and I don’t have…

  Vexx blinked, feeling the familiar surge of magic as he touched the book. The book. Of course! I was going to try the ritual later, but…the book does hold great power within it! A smash interrupted his thoughts and Vexx glanced over to see the door broken open. Zombie Frank lurched in, slower than usual, but strong enough to smash the skulls of the two closest skeletons.

  “Vexx, do you have a plan?” Kaylin stammered.

  “Yeah, yeah, one second,” he replied, skimming through the book. “Great power…a trap…should not be unleashed…some demon symbols…all good so far.”

  Zombie Frank was still holding position at the door, scattering the bones of a skeleton warrior that was a half-second too late. An arrow soared past, taking Zombie Frank in his right leg, though he had no reaction to it. Another followed, and then a skeleton with a mace trudged up the stairs.

  “He can’t hold forever! What can we do?”

  “Uh... “ Vexx frantically flipped through the last pages of the magic book. “Yeah, here it is! Feed magic into the Ruby of the Pure while holding a lock of hair from the innocent. Hey!” He looked over at Kaylin. “You’re pretty innocent, right?”

  She blinked. “Of what?” she asked innocently.

  Vexx leaned over and plucked a hair from her. Kaylin yelped. Vexx ignored her, grabbing the Ruby of the Pure from her hands. With the hair and ruby clenched tightly in both hands Vexx closed his eyes and concentrated, feeding magical energy into the orb. It’s now or never!

  He felt heat rising in both hands and opened his eyes. The book had fallen on the ground below and the pages rustled, moving back and forth as a wave of wind and energy stirred from within. The book began to hover in the air, vibrating rapidly, and Vexx felt a sudden coolness in his palms. He opened both hands and watched in horrified fascination as black ashes trailed out from where the ruby had been and blackened hair fibers drifted down from his open right hand.

  Something has gone wrong!

  “Am I…cursed?” Vexx asked in shock, staring at a black mark left on his left palm where the ruby had been. He rubbed at it furiously with the fingers on his right hand, ignoring the sounds of struggle at the door, watching as bits of ashes drifted away, but the mark remained. “Oh, this isn’t good. This isn’t good at all. How innocent are you, really?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Ah, you know these old books! They always mean virgin when they say innocent.”

  “Ohhh…” Kaylin replied slowly. “Why didn’t you say so before?” They looked at each other in silence for a long moment.

  25

  Shyola

  “Well?” Vexx asked over the commotion at the door.

  “A lady doesn’t kiss and tell.”

  Before Vexx could reply, the swirling magical book burst apart and flashes of black and red blinded him.

  “Yeah, somebody let me out!” a woman’s voice declared triumphantly.

  A spectral form appeared as the multicolored haze faded away, and then, a half-naked woman materialized. Form-fitting mesh covered parts of her body but did nothing to hide her ample curves. She hovered in the air for a moment; long black hair mixed with red, and she fixed her eyes on Vexx with a wide smile.

  “What an attractive young man! I see these centuries weren’t wasted. I mean
, they were, but here we are.”

  “Wha…” Vexx stammered. “You… you’re…”

  “Shy,” the strange woman said. Judging from her tight clothing, it didn’t seem likely. “That’s my nickname, anyway. My full name is Shyola.” She set her hands on her hips and studied him. “Oh, you’ll be a delight. I’ll save you for later. You, on the other hand…” Shy shrugged as she looked over to Kaylin, and in a flash, she drew a whip. She cackled as she flicked her wrist and it snapped forward to circle around Kaylin.

  Kaylin shrieked and desperately struggled against the pulsating orange magic that surged through the whip.

  Shyola grinned, licked her lips. “Sacrifices are lacking these days, but—”

  Vexx whipped his hand forward, sending his magic straight toward Shyola’s head, using his new necromantic skill. She isn’t a corpse, but she isn’t exactly “alive”…is she? He strained, rapidly draining his energy reserves in an attempt to make her submit. Vexx’s eyes flicked past Shy, who now moved away in surprise, over to Zombie Frank still holding the door against an attacking wave.

  “Frank!” Vexx snapped, still struggling to control the demon. “Help!”

  Something smashed in the distance. “Frank bus—” another smash sound. “Busy. No time for—” he paused, and another smash echoed over. “Play.”

  Vexx groaned. He supposed his zombie had a point, but still. He glared at Shyola. “Yield to me, demon!”

  Shy staggered and fell to her knees. “I don’t know if it’s,” she panted, “centuries of lounging around in there, or…” she shook her head. “Or what, but…” Shy groaned and released her whip, the magical cord disappearing around Kaylin.

  “You got me,” Shy said, grinning even as she slumped forward. “You got me,” she said again, sighing heavily before rising to her feet “Alright, I’m bound to you, Master. You have three wishes.”