Authors: Doug Backus
“A Kruntulla?” Deke asked.
“They are powerful beasts, native to Rhol. They walk on two legs, but have four arms which enable them to climb or dig at a very fast pace. Their size varies depending on how old they are. A hundred year old Kruntulla can be sixty feet tall, and as strong as any creature that exists in this world. They live deep within the many mountain ranges of Rhol, but after Phanthus was left in charge by Solharn, he convinced them that they should not hide in the mountains. He told them they should venture out and take what was rightfully theirs. Most Kruntulla were happy with their surroundings and paid no attention to Phanthus, but others agreed with him and forged their way out into Rhol inflicting pain and misery on anyone not loyal to Solharn.
Delca put up a good fight against the Balane but the girl was not ready to transform her
paladin into such a large beast. The harder Delca fought, the more energy it drained from her. I suspect she was eventually drained completely. Lorca found the girl lying by the Blackpool unconscious. Her Paladin was nowhere to be found and the Sacred Amulet of Rhol had vanished. Lorca returned to Solace with her, and eventually she awoke. She had no memory of what happened to her paladin or the amulet. We thought Solharn had been successful in stealing it back, and had left the girl to suffer the fate of a Pintante after destroying her paladin.
I believed that any hope of saving Rhol was over. It was not until we learned from a spy within Solharn’s armies
, that he too, was concerned about the whereabouts of the amulet. Eventually he surmised that the girl must have thrown it into the Blackpool, and so he sent a Kaltaures soldier to earth in search of it. Thankfully you found it before the Kaltaures did, and when its powers brought you here to Rhol the protective fields around Leal and Tamon were dispelled.
Solharn predicted this would happen after the Kaltaures soldier reported back to him about you
, and he was able to plan an attack on Leal before anyone was aware of what was transpiring. Phanthus was sent to destroy you, and luckily he failed. Since your arrival everything that Queen Elissa foretold has occurred. It is how I know that you, Dietrich, were meant to find the amulet.”
Deke’s mind was
in overdrive. Could it be a coincidence that a girl from earth arrived three years ago, the same time his friend Mary went missing? Before he could ask the question Kiran answered it for him.
“Yes
, Dietrich. You know the girl of which I speak.”
“Hello, Deke,
” a familiar voice came from behind him.
Deke turned quickly
. He smiled when he saw his long lost friend, and ran to embrace her. Mary was alive. Tears rolled down Mary’s cheeks as she hugged Deke. She did not want to let him go.
“Deke,
I had hoped this day would come,” Mary said choking back her tears. “How have you been? It must have been horrible for you when I suddenly disappeared. You must have felt…,” Mary could not speak anymore as she began to sob uncontrollably.
With all that was going on Deke had forgotten the anguish he had felt when Mary had gone missing
, and the pain he had suffered when the searches for her had come up empty.
“I gave up hope that you were alive
. I wasn’t myself for years,” Deke said looking at Deo, “but someone...something convinced me to return to the place I’d lost myself. Now that I’ve found you we can return together, Mary.” Deke said trying to boost Mary’s morale.
Mary began to cry even harder
, and Deke continued to try to console her, “Mary, all that matters now is that we have found each other again. We will find our way back.”
“I can never return Deke,
” Mary sobbed.
Deke could not stand the thought of his friend’s heart breaking
. “Of course you will Mary. We’ll go now if you want. Kiran, we must get her back. I’ll return, if that’s what’s meant to be, but there must be a way to help Mary.”
Kiran looked at Mary. She could not speak. Deke’s arrival had brought back too many emotions that she had kept bottled up inside for years. Kiran decided to tell Deke what Mary couldn’t.
“Dietrich, Mary can never leave. When one’s paladin is destroyed that person can never move on from the world where it happened; they are trapped.”
Deke could not believe what he was hearing
, and could not stand seeing Mary in such distress. “It’s ok, Mary. I will stay here with you. You’ll always have a friend close by.”
Kiran continued
, “Dietrich, that is not all that happens when a person loses their paladin.”
Mary pulled herself together momentarily
, and gave Kiran a sharp look before cutting into the conversation. “It will be great to have a friend close by. I’ve longed for the day we would see each other again. You’re a true friend Deke.”
Kiran let it go. Mary knew Deke better than
she did, and she would tell him the fate that was to bestow her in her own time.
“Then there
’s nothing more to worry about except the task at hand,” said Deke.
Mary smiled
, “And I promise you this, Deke, I will be by your side no matter what we encounter.”
Kiran felt that Mary might regret deceiving Deke by not telling him what would become of her in the next few months
, but she also knew that if she did it would not help him in his quest to restore the Balance of Five. If Mary told him of her fate now, he would become obsessed with trying to save her from becoming a Pintante. Mary was thinking of Rhol, and since there was nothing Deke would be able to do anyway, there was no point in divulging her secret. She would tell him when she had to for his own safety.
“Mary will help you on your quest to find Elissa. The amulet itself will guide you as it did her. She has already travelled through many parts of Rhol
, and knows of the dangers that lie ahead. I have been able to spend the past several months with Mary, giving me time to explain some of the secrets of Rhol that you will need to assist you if you are to find Elissa. I was not foretold what was to happen after you got here Dietrich, but I do know that you, Mary and Deo will be in grave danger on your journey to save this world. Protect each other at all costs. Solharn will be focused on destroying all of you and retrieving the amulet. Oh, yes, one other thing, take this chain. It will carry the amulet for you and protect it from becoming lost. It is important that you never let it leave the confines of this chain. Do you understand Dietrich?”
“Yes, Kiran,
” answered Deke.
Lorca suddenly entered the cottage
. “I am sorry for interrupting Kiran, but Solko has just entered the Wall of Solace. He comes with Preta and carries a young Lealian with him. They have news and request your presence.”
Kiran climbed on top of Lorca and instructed Deke, Mary and Deo to follow her. In moments they were at the very spot where Deke had first observed the Sacred Realm of Solace.
“Welcome Solko, Preta. It is good to see the Lealians and the Pegapires have joined once again. What news do you bring?”
Solko bowed to Kiran
, “Thank you Kiran, but the news is more dismal than it appears. This is Oisin. We brought him to the wall as quickly as possible to heal the wounds inflicted upon him by the Ralcriff. He had few hours to spare.”
“So y
ou have joined with the Lealians then Solko?” Kiran enquired.
“Not quite Kiran. Once the fields dispelled around Tamon we knew it was the time Queen Elissa had told us to wait for. We immediately raced to Leal to join with them in the fight for Rhol. When we arrived there we found no one. The village had been destroyed, burned to the ground. We
found several of the Lealian’s lifeless bodies strewn about the village, and several more within the temple, but most were burned beyond recognition. We also found the bodies of several Kaltaures soldiers among them. Fearing the worst, we began to search for any survivors. We found a tunnel leading from the temple going underground and had renewed hope that some had survived. But when we began to follow it we found that it had collapsed.
Palto ordered that we follow him. He
told us that just after the Queen had ordered us to retreat to Leal and Tamon, Roland had told him of his plan to dig a tunnel which would lead to the Valley of Aura as a safeguard. We flew as fast as the wind would carry us. When we arrived we could see hundreds upon hundreds of Solharn’s armies gathered in the fields surrounding the valley. It was Palto who saw the Lealians first, three of them surrounded by Kaltaures soldiers. Knowing that this could be the last three alive, Palto immediately ordered the attack. We took the Kaltaures by surprise due to a thick fog which concealed us. We were able to save two of the three Lealians; a girl named Kaelyn, and Oisin who stands before you.”
Oisin had not been told the news
. “Palvoy is dead?” he asked staring blankly at Solko.
“I am sorry
, Oisin. He died trying to save Kaelyn and you. If not for him you two may well have been killed. His actions provided us with enough time and distraction to save you both.”
Kiran looked deeply concerned
. “Is it what you surmised then? Only two Lealians have survived?”
“No. A
ccording to Kaelyn several hundred still remain in the tunnel about three to four hours outside of Aura. Their leader, Roland, is dead. His son Jayden, the last remaining blood line to that family, is gravely injured. He was infected with the poison of the Ralcriff quills at the same time as Oisin.”
“Then Jayden will succumb to the poison in how many hours?” Kiran asked now very concerned.
“About three,” Oisin interrupted looking down toward the ground.
“Palto is racing
through the tunnel to Jayden as we speak. He hopes to bring Jayden to the wall before it is too late. We are hoping the Lealians arrive in Aura soon to join us in the fight. Without them we will take on too many casualties. The girl Kaelyn, at her insistence, is in battle with Issa as we speak,” Solko advised.
“Very well, we will wait for Palto to decide what our next move will be. He will be able to inform us on the p
rogress of the Lealian warriors,” Kiran said.
“That is yet another problem,
” Solko indicated. “When we flew here with Oisin we were able to arrive at the entrance to the mountain just ahead of an army of Phits and a rather large Kruntulla. I fear by the time Palto gets here they will be lying in wait for him.”
Kiran thought for a moment contemplating the next move. “Lorca, gather all the people we can. The armies of Solharn are upon us.”
“How will we know when Palto arrives, Kiran? He is too far away to communicate with and I am sure by now Solharn’s army stands between us and him,” Lorca asked.
“Deo and I can help!
” Deke said. “I can change Deo into a small bird, and he can fly past the armies undetected to inform us of Palto’s arrival. It is the only way we will know when to advance.”
Kiran was concerned. “Dietrich, you have more to learn before you transform Deo at will. You are not fully aware of all the tribulations you will have to face when attempting this.”
Deo, who had been listening intently, finally spoke. “I agree with Deke, Kiran. Although I am sure we have much to learn from you, there is no time. Solharn’s armies are already advancing on Solace, and the Pegapires are in battle at Aura. We must move now. Palto and Jayden are the leaders of the Pegapires and the Lealians. Their leadership will be essential in coming out of this war victorious. I am confident Deke can do this, and by transforming me into something so small he will still maintain much of his strength.”
“I am afraid I have to agree Kir
an. I can think of no other way,” Solko added.
Kiran was silent for several minutes. Deke suspected she was contemplating whether she was making another mistake, as she had with Mary.
“Kiran, what is your decision?” Solko impatiently asked.
Kiran turned to Deke. “You have transformed your
paladin before Dietrich but that was only in a very stressful situation. This will be different. You must clear your mind if it is to work and imagine only what Deo is to transform into. After he is transformed comes the difficult part. Keeping Deo in that state will not be easy, especially if you are distracted. Over time it will become much easier. You must learn to separate the parts of the mind that you use for imagination and reality to be able to fully function.”
Deke closed his eyes and began to imagine a hummingbird. It was the smallest and fastest bird he knew. In a few minutes he opened his eyes and found Deo hovering directly above his shoulder. It had worked. With a slight nod Deo disappeared through the Wall of Solace. Kiran took Deke’s hand and sat him down in a quiet place away from everyone else and beckoned Mary over. “Keep a close eye Mary. He must not be distracted. The fate of Deo and perhaps all of Rhol depends on it.”
As Palto raced toward the tunnel he thought of Roland. He had been a close friend; he had looked forward to fighting alongside him once again. Jayden was now the last in the bloodline of the family that had ruled the Lealians for centuries. Without him they would lose great knowledge of their history that only he possessed, but more so they would lose a great leader. In these dismal times a strong leader was essential for their survival.