The Orb of Truth (The Horn King Series) (24 page)

Bridazak courageously looked into King Manasseh’s eyes and responded with silence.

“Where is it?” the King asked, in a sickeningly sweet tone, but still received no answer. “Search him,” he commanded.

They tore through his backpack and bedding to find nothing. Then they felt around his clothes until discovering the lump in his pocket, finally producing the Orb. No longer was it gold, but instead a blood red. Bridazak’s eyes widened at the unexpected change of the voice of God, and silently waited for it to reveal its true power and nature, but nothing happened. The King took it and inspected it closely. It was warm to the touch, and he could feel a slight pulse like the beating of a heart.

“What is it?” He looked over to Vevrin for the answer, knowing that Bridazak wasn’t going to divulge any information.

The wizard held it and then cast another spell. “I don’t know. It is certainly magical, but I’m unable to identify it.”

“Perhaps it’s the source of this dwarven army’s power. I had thought that I might try to wield this myself, but I think if we destroy this orb…”

“No!” Bridazak cried out.

“So, it is the power of your army.” Dripping in hypocritical grace, he continued,
“This
little trinket,
this
is what was contained inside the coveted box? Well, thank you for answering all my questions. Vevrin, prepare this orb to be sacrificed, and get this halfling out of my sight.”

The Wild Dwarf brigade waited at the gate after receiving the telepathic message from their brothers. Several giants stepped out of the smoke-filled, destroyed entrance. Each towered at the height of a village building, with muscles bulging, and wore only a loin cloth. Sounds of battle echoed all around them. Manasseh’s men backed away from the dwarves when the giants came into view.

“Saddle up, boys! Time to change some diapers!” One of the dwarves yelled.

They tumbled together and a few climbed on top, forming a dwarven pyramid. A chant began in unison.

“Kaba teekseh bo!”

“Kaba teekseh bo!”

“Kaba teekseh bo!”

Their skin began to meld together as the spell was released, and soon the group of dwarves became one and continued to expand. Popping of bone sounded along with the stretching of skin, like rope tightening. Within a minute, there stood before the giants a fifteen-foot-tall mega-Dwarf. The new creation laughed heartily and then smacked their hands together. As they pulled their hands apart a shaft of a weapon materialized: an enormous war hammer was birthed.

The giants hesitated a moment, confused, but then charged. Immediately, one of them was launched back as the hammer swung and connected. The others came in and began to grapple and pummel the Dwarf monster. Fire suddenly encompassed the monstrous humanoids as the colossal, bearded being released the power they received from the broken curse of the Burning Forest. Several giants fell to the ground ablaze, writhing in pain. The mighty hammer came down and was buried into their skulls one by one. Flesh smoldered, and the blood flowing from the cracked skulls bubbled from the intense heat emitting from the blazing Dwarf creature. King Manasseh’s men ran from the scene and stayed away from the hulking fire Dwarf.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck from above. The hood of a crimson-robed mystic flew into view. A magical rune tattooed on his forehead glowed under the shadow of its cowl. The wild dwarves pointed their hand at the mage, shooting forth a jet of flames. A second mystic, under summoned magical power, flew in and protected the other with a spell. The fire splayed around the target as it hit the invisible shield now in place. Lightning hit the dwarves again from a third source. Pain wracked the gigantic body. A fourth bolt struck. There were too many of the mystics.

The stormy sky opened once again and another huge meteorite streaked down. Screaming out of the heavens, it shattered upon impact on the magically shielded tower. The embers of rock fell like a firework, causing only minor damage to the castle structure surrounding the tower. Raina’s eyes narrowed as she thought,
“Manasseh’s mystic acted more quickly than I expected.”

“My lady, several mystics have engaged us at the front gate,” Geetock said, after receiving a telepathic message.

“It is time that I personally introduce myself.”

The tower swayed once again, but Vevrin’s protective spell saved it from the mighty blast. Bridazak was being directed toward the staircase by two guards. Another soldier carried the Ordakian’s weapons and belongings in front of him. Bridazak noticed a faint aura coming from the quiver he’d found in Everwood—some of his magical arrows were glowing.

“Make sure this one is isolated. Give him our best suite,” Vevrin said.

“Yes sir,” one of the guards responded with an evil grin.

Vevrin then tapped his staff on the stone floor and suddenly disappeared. The arrows’ telltale glow faded away.

“It’s barred from the other side,” Dulgin announced.

“Anyone have a way to get through barred doors?” Xan asked, looking at each of them. No answer came.

“Great, we can handle the most powerful monsters in all the land, and yet we can’t open one damn door!” Dulgin scoffed.

“Rondee has an ability to meld himself into stone, but it is dangerous,” El’Korr finally chimed in.

“I can summon a rock elemental, but it will make quite a bit of noise bashing the door down.”

“Can’t it just open the barred door instead of breaking it down?” Xan asked.

“It is not able to grab things like that. It is a creature formed from rock.”

“Well, it looks like Rondee is the only way,” the dwarven king said while looking at his bodyguard.

Rondee nodded, and everyone backed away from the reinforced door. The Wild Dwarf placed the palms of his hands against the wall just next to the entrance. He braced his legs and began to push on the rock. His muscles bulged and then he whispered a chant with his face up against the rough cut stone. Rondee’s eyes were shut and his neck veins strained as he continued to push.

“Nothin’s happening,” Dulgin whispered to his brother.

“Shhhhh. Let him concentrate.”

Several more moments went by until finally Rondee’s hands began to meld into the rock. Each push with his legs sent him deeper within. He was now consumed by the wall and the heroes could no longer see him. They waited in anticipation of Rondee opening the barred entry. A minute elapsed with no indication from the Wild Dwarf.

“He should be on the other side by now,” Xan surmised.

Abawken moved to the door and tried to listen. “I don’t hear anything, but it might be too thick.”

“Something’s wrong. I can feel it,” Dulgin said.

“Abawken, summon your creature,” El’Korr commanded in haste.

Before he could pull out his magical scimitar, everyone heard a thud on the other side. Then it was silent again. Seconds ticked slowly by, and then the door popped open to reveal Rondee, smiling. Just beyond him were several human guards lying dead on the ground.

“I coombre stop chenko for directions.” Rondee said.

Another thunderbolt just barely missed the dwarven giant as it dodged out of the way. There were now five red-robed mystics shuffling about in the air. The Wild Dwarf fired several blasts of flame at the mages, but they were all protected, and beyond the reach of the massive war hammer. Five glowing missiles made of magical energy slammed into their back and knocked them to one knee. The other wizards began to cast more spells to finish off the Dwarf.

A dark bolt of energy suddenly erupted and blasted one of the evil mystics back into the castle wall with tremendous force. The human fell to the ground dead—robes ablaze. They all looked up to see a female Elf hovering in the air before them.

“Kill the wench!” one mystic commanded.

“What amazing manners your King has taught you,” she responded playfully.

Two mages launched more force missiles. All ten of them soared in, but dissipated once they hit the protective shield that Raina had in place around her. The energy dispersed harmlessly. Another wizard shot lightning from his ornate ivory rod. It sizzled in with a bright flash of light only to be absorbed into Raina’s wooden staff.

“I think this belongs to you,” she said. The same bolt re-launched with a thunderous crack and hit the dark mystic in the chest. He flipped over in the air and then slowly descended to the ground, blue sparks arcing sporadically over his lifeless body.

The fifth mystic conjured a large ball of fire, and rocketed it into Raina. Fire engulfed her. The mystic smiled in triumph until he saw her come out of it unharmed. Raina released another incantation that instantly dispelled the mages flying power. He fell to the ground but was able to land softly after releasing a quickened spell before impact. The last thing he saw was an enormous war hammer coming down on his head.

Two wizards remained.

“Who are you?” one asked.

“I’m the Sheldeen Elf mystic,” she announced.

“Impossible! She has not been seen for centuries.”

“And yet, here I am. Look around you. King Manasseh’s reign ends today.”

They took a moment to look at the battle field. The dwarves had decimated the King’s men. Ten thousand lay dead, and yet the bearded clan pressed further in, and were now amassing at the front of the castle with minimal losses.