Haven's Addiction

The port was instantaneous and I was met with the sudden sound of rushing air and feeling of falling as my body rapidly lurched downward. The look of surprise on Drognaus was priceless. What made it more worthwhile was the look of sheer terror as he tried to use his abilities to fly, or at the very least transform into a dragon, and couldn’t.

The ground was five miles below, and quickly climbing to meet us. The speck of the town below could barely be seen, but the black spot of the spire of Kendrick was unmistakable.

We continued to fall with nothing to stop us, and there was nothing that could stop us. I had flown high above the city being carried by the giant birds until I reached the edge of the dead zone. As soon as I was reconnected with Barthandolous I had him creating a porting point. Once porting to that point, gravity took over taking us directly into the dead zone until the ground stopped our fall rather suddenly. There was no way to avoid it.

“Hahahaha,” I laughed out loud, exhilarated. “Whooo. This is amazing,” I continued to scream. I had never gone skydiving before I left home, but I could definitely see the appeal of it. It was an exciting adrenaline rush that couldn’t be matched short of charging at a dragon; ironic considering that I managed to combine the two. There were so many things I wanted to say, and had even prepared a whole host of elaborate speeches to stick it to him. None of them would do me the least bit of good. The howling of the rushing wind drowned out everything so severely that only a few short phrases could be discernible.

“Are you ready to cut a real deal now?” I had to scream over the sound of the roaring wind so that Drognaus could hear me. His look of terror switched to anger, something that I didn’t think his cold and calculated nature was even capable of.

“There is no way out of this short of death by impact. Don’t even consider resurrection because I have people on the ground who are ready to claim us after we land and dispose of the bodies.”

At first I thought I had made too dangerous of a gamble. I assumed that Drognaus, much like Droclin, would be able to speak English even without the translator. Both of them seemed to have a vested interest in me enough to study my language extensively, and both were incredibly intelligent. If I was wrong, then my plan would be a complete waste.

“I thought you didn’t want to go out like Placidious?” Was all he said, and I couldn’t help but grin at my own cleverness. He was right, this was essentially a form of suicide. There appeared to be nothing to stop our descent, and the impact would either kill us instantly or quick enough that nobody would be able to get us clear of the dead zone in time to heal us. His realization of this was quick, which was good because we didn’t have a lot of time before impact.

“I’m not going to go down like that. Whether you do or not depends on if you are truly willing to hear me out.”

“I’m listening, but now isn’t exactly the best time to talk.” I could hardly hear him over the sound of rushing air, despite the fact that he was yelling.

“You’re right. Do you agree to sit down and have a serious and open discussion on how to handle our differences if we survive this?” I couldn’t tell if he could hear me and was about to repeat it when he responded.

“Yes.” he said loud and clear.

“All right.” I reached out my hand to take his. We had to work to reach each other, the wind had us drifting every which way as we fell. He was reluctant to touch me, and I couldn’t blame him. “You better stay close, because I don’t know for certain if this is going to work. If it’s any consolation, if you don’t survive this neither will I.”

He didn’t seem relieved in the least. Dismayed, he reached out and held on. I handed him a cord that was attached to my pack and had him attach it to him. He wasn’t happy about it, but survival makes people do things they aren’t comfortable with.

By the time the cords were complete the ground was getting close, and the tower even closer. I tried to take a deep relaxing breath, but couldn’t because of the rushing air around me. Instead I just said to heck with it and pulled the cord on the pack.

The parachute opened up out of the pack just as it was intended. I practiced with it a few times outside of the dead zone, so I wasn’t completely caught off guard by the sudden jolt that threatened to jar my bones into a concussion. The sheer terror of having my body whipped around as the parachute unfurled was more intense than the falling through the sky. It was met with the fear that it might not work, or that the straps attaching Drognaus to me would give way with him plummeting to the ground. Getting him killed would lead to a whole world of other problems for me. I needed him alive.

I clutched the cords that steered the parachute and aimed for the general direction of the tower. As we neared the peak it became easier to steer. I was so intently concentrating on aiming for the top of the tower that I was startled when Drognaus spoke up.

“What do you plan to do with me?” His tone was grim. The rushing air had slowed with our descent so that we actually had the possibility of holding a conversation that wouldn’t likely cause permanent damage to our vocal cords.

“We’re going to have a talk, just the two of use.” He gave a nod of understanding. This was the only place in the world we could talk without Barthandolous, or anyone else, interfering. “Then, if all goes well, we abide by our arrangement.”

There was a brief silence that would have been long and awkward if it had occurred while sitting stationary in a room together. “This is an interesting contraption.” He was apparently looking up at the chute, but I was so intently focused on steering that I didn’t dare look away.

“Shush, I need to focus.” I wasn’t trying to be difficult or change the subject. I really did need to concentrate on steering the parachute. Coming up with the design for a parachute off the top of my head wasn’t difficult since I had built them all the time as a kid for my action figures, but the flaps for steering were only theoretical. I knew that it was possible, I just didn’t know how exactly they were made to function. I only practiced it a few times outside of the zone. I had been able to hit the target the majority of the time, but there was still a margin of error that would end up being fatal or a failure. Failure would involve missing the top of the tower and landing elsewhere, possibly losing Drognaus; which would lead to my eventual death anyway. So landing on the tower was of tantamount importance.

As the tower grew I became nervous. The butterflies in my stomach transformed into an angry mob of hornets. I had been so calm and relaxed before porting to the drop point, of course I had to be to make it believable. Now the imminent danger was undeniable. Even if we did land on the tower it was going to hurt; and hurt it did.

The impact was significantly more bone jarring than the opening of the chute. The sudden stop and tumbling to the ground could have been traumatic if I wasn’t distracted by triggering the quick release to the harness that connected Drognaus, as well as the ones that disconnected the lines from the pack so that the wind wouldn’t catch the chute and drag me off the tower. We landed near the edge of the tower. Not so close that we were in risk of falling off, but enough that the edge of the chute hung over the side.

I also had to be quick because I knew as soon as we landed Drognaus would retaliate. I rolled away from him in the opposite direction we landed, which wasn’t an easy feat, using my boot as leverage against his back to push us apart. I tumbled to the ground at an uncomfortable angle, and drew the pistol from the holster. He would have to get back to his feet to come after me. I just needed to have the pistol ready.

He was a spry old fart and regained his bearings with surprising grace, but it wasn’t enough. We were only five feet away from each other, but he was trapped. It’s not like he could go anywhere, we were both now marooned on the roof. He could attack me and possibly overpower me, but he would undoubtedly get shot at least once in the process. With no way for him to heal or get immediate medical attention, he chose to hold his ground. I could see all the possible avenues of escape go through his eyes in an instant. He was stuck, there was no way around it. He knew my weapons well and how best to thwart them; but all of those methods had been obliterated as soon as we entered the dead zone.

We both stood staring at each other, catching our breaths. He limped a few steps backwards and then sat down on the cold metal of the tower roof.

“Are you all right?” I asked.

“I hurt my ankle when I landed, possibly broke it,” He replied. “You?”

“I stood up to stretch and test my legs out. “I’m fine. Banged my elbow and knee up pretty hard. It’s definitely the worst substance in the world to land on.” My legs were throbbing, and I knew I was going to have difficulty getting up, there was likely something broken, or at the very least sprained. My attention was so focused on keeping the weapon pointed at Drognaus and being wary of any sudden movements that it distracted from the pain.

He sat back down, facing me about ten feet away. We had the roof of the tower all to ourselves, I had made sure of that. I took enough of a risk as it was, and couldn’t afford to have anyone else interfering.

“So...” he called out, groaning a bit from the discomfort, leaving it hang in the air.

“So...” I said in response, letting it linger too while I situated myself to get more comfortable. The metal floor was incredibly cold, but it also felt somewhat relieving to my stiff body.

“Now that we’re here,” I stumbled. I had rehearsed this conversation in my own head countless times over the last several days. I had little else to do with my time while the parachute was being constructed other than research Kendrick’s tower and obsess over the Orb. Yet at that moment I came up with a complete blank, and couldn’t think of a single thing to say.

“Where did you get that device,” he chose to break up the awkwardness. “You didn’t have it in your gear when you were at the castle.”

“I had it specifically made based on parachutes that existed back home. I didn’t have any blueprints to work with, so had to wing it for the most part.”

“How does it work.”

“It simply catches air to slow your descent. The steering was the hardest. I had to create a magical version of it in order to tinker with how to make it work properly. The first couple batches were complete failures. If not for Barthandolous I would have been a smudge on the landscape.”

“Why do it?”

“This is the only place in this world where we could have an uninterrupted, rational discussion about what needs to be done. It’s not like you would have come here willingly.”

“True.”

“Why did you let me have the Orb, knowing this would happen?”

A dark shadow fell over his face. He wasn’t expecting this question, at least not yet. “It was fated to happen. I have learned a long time ago that those who tamper with fate live a cursed existence.” He paused, wanting to say more, but caught himself, thinking carefully before he spoke. “You would have eventually ended up under the thrall of the Orb whether I interfered or not.”

“How do you know that? What is my fate?”

He took in a deep breath and sighed. “Those of us who look into the fate of others are fools. Fate can’t be changed. If it is your fate to die in a historical battle, it will happen if you partake in the battle or not.”

“So, you are saying that we all have our fates written for us and there is nothing we can do about it?”

He shook his head. “Only some of us. The majority of people have the opportunity to choose their destiny. We are among those unfortunate few. Some aspects of our lives are chosen for us, but the rest, and how we choose to accept our future, is up to us.”

I stopped to ponder this, but not deeply enough that I would lose focus on keeping the pistol on him. He continued before I could think on it too much.

“While you were in New Haven City I looked into your fate. It is not an easy process to do, and if it is any consolation it is an extraordinarily traumatic experience to do so.” The pain in his eyes was unmistakable. “The toll it takes to look into the strands of fate stays with you for the rest of your life. You can never escape it or forget it.” The images of what he saw haunted him terribly. I don’t know what the process entailed, probably a long and drawn out ritual using a great deal of magical power, and he had lost a part of himself he would never get back in the process. Since joining with Barthandolous I began to seriously doubt a lot of the things Dragonus had told me, but this was something unmistakable.

“When you look into the strands of fate,” his eyes got dark, distant, and haunted, “you can’t pick and choose. You see all that is preordained. You don’t see the specifics, the how, the when, or they why. You only learn the what. I learned many things about you that I can not undo and that I must take to my grave. No one else will be able to understand this. It is too much even for you to grasp even though it will be your life.”

“I saw many things you are fated for, more than I have time to list for you. Among them I saw you accepting the call of the Orb of the Red Dragon. I saw you eventually casting it aside of your own free will. I saw you freeing The Twelve from their imprisonment. I saw you returning to your home and doing your part in liberating it from the Graxis. I have seen your greatest victories, and your worst betrayals. I even saw you being present at the moment of my death. Again, I do not know the specifics of any of these, just that they will be so.”

“So you have seen, firsthand, that I am successful in all of these things?”

“Yes.”

“And you are being completely honest with me about this?”

“Yes. I could gladly subject myself to an inquiry with the Rings of Truth when we depart here if you so wish it.”

“So why did you do this?” I screamed, furiously. “Why did you send your cronies out to stop me?” I waved the pistol at him, the anger almost getting out of control. It took a great deal of restraint not to at least shoot him in the leg. In a horrified moment that I didn’t realized up until then, that the pistol in my hand was the very same one I used to shoot the Carnivex/Edic imposter in cold blood. For the first time my hand began trembling at the thought of it.

“Because they wouldn’t understand. Tampering with Fate is as severe a crime as tampering with Time. It is a capital offense punishable by death, even to one such as me. They follow the teachings that were handed down by my grandfather. Teachings that I can’t embrace any longer Because I looked into your fate. They will continue to follow those teachings until they have a valid reason not to. Nothing I can say will change that.”

“You truly have created a monster in your underlings, haven’t you Doctor Frankenstein?” I muttered grimly.

He may not have known about the mad scientist, but he knew what I meant. “Yes, I have.”

“Wait a second,” I thought aloud. “You were the one who told Gerald about the prophecy of someone letting go of the Orb willingly.”

He smirked, almost imperceptibly so, but I could see it was there. “The prophecy already existed. I merely made sure that Gerald became aware of it.”

“He’s a tough nut to crack, isn’t he?”

“He is the most loyal follower you could ever hope to have.”

I almost had a new appreciation for Gerald. He may have been a major pain in my ass, but he is definitely one you would want to have on your side. That’s why Edic was tortured for information and not Gerald back in Placid. It was obvious upon meeting him, and by his reputation, that he would never betray any of us. He fulfilled his duty to the best of his ability, and would undoubtedly continue to do so until his sense of duty changed. He was so obsessed with loyalty that change wouldn’t come easy for him, if at all.

“So, if I give up the Orb of my own free will,” I pondered out loud. “I will fulfill this prophecy. Then what?”

“The prophecy states that the one who relinquishes the Orb of the Red Dragon of their own free will be the one to release The Twelve and become the savior of this planet.”

I began to ponder the possibility of this, but immediately met resistance. The mere thought of letting go of the Orb brought about a panic. I recognized it right away as what I had called the ‘druggie panic’ since being in contact with Barthandolous. It was the feeling that I was certain drug addicts felt when they realized their stash was dry and they didn’t have the means to get their next fix. Thoughts of paranoia raced through my mind like a switchboard of warning lights all going off at once. Thoughts that Drognaus couldn’t be trusted, that he was lying just so he could take the Orb away from me. The addiction to the power of the Orb, and the Need to have it was so strongly engrained in my brain that anything that might threaten to take it away was met with both hatred and terror.

This feeling was foreign to me, yet I became increasingly comfortable with it. I had gone well past acceptance and leaned more towards embracing it. I knew that my attraction towards the Orb was unhealthy, yet I trusted that feeling a lot less than I trusted Drognaus. Most of the doubts I had about him were that he hid things from me. Barthandolous saw that in me and exploited it. He made a point of not hiding anything from me, well almost anything, which made Drognaus that much less credible.

“How did you manage to convince Barthandolous to go along with your plan to lure me here? He had to be able to tell that you would betray him, if that really was your intention.”

He obviously wasn’t completely sold on the idea yet, and I couldn’t blame him. He wouldn’t know for certain if I would hand the Orb over to him until I actually did it.

“I told him that my performance back at the castle had to be convincing or I wouldn’t be able to get close enough to grab you and spring the trap. I doubt he fully believed it, but I also reminded him that the enchantments that bound me to the Orb were unbreakable. I have no intention of dying, and he knows that, unlike with Placidious.” Drognaus cringed a little at the mention of the name. “The trap was solid with only two possible outcomes. One involved us sitting here on the tower like we are now and essentially making you back off or kill you. The other involves missing the tower and both of us plummeting to our deaths. Sure he would lose me, but he would also get to kill the last remaining descendant of the Gold Clan that imprisoned him. It was a win/win for him.”

Drognaus cracked up laughing so loudly that it likely got the attention of the majority of Kendrick, who were probably already in a state of shock over the parachute descending onto the tower. If it wasn’t for the blowing wind we would have likely heard the commotion blow.

His laughter made me laugh vicariously, and before we knew it we both had tears in our eyes from laughing so hard.

“No matter how this ends, he comes out ahead,” I told him. “The only way I can betray him is if I can let go of the hold the Orb has over me, which is the truth. If I can hand over the Orb to you I would do it.”

“Can you?”

“I don’t know,” I shook my head. I honestly didn’t. Everything I did try to think about it, my mind immediately flooded with different ideas of why it would be a bad idea, which I hated, but it couldn’t be helped. “But I will try.”

“There is no try.”

“Whatever, Yoda.” He gave me a strange look, but shook it off. He may have understood my language, but he still didn’t speak pop culture. “Does our deal still stand?” I was getting the shakes. The conversation still left me rattled.

“That if you hand over the Orb I will back off in your quest to collect the Orbs and release The Twelve? I will do better than that. If you give up the Orb you will have fulfilled the prophecy. I won’t have to do anything to gain your trust with my comrades. That will do it for you.”

Then it dawned on me. “You’re not my enemy, they are.”

He nodded. “Not just them, but the old ways they cling to.”

“Are you trying to undermine the system from within?”

“No. Merely change it. Those of the old world of Haven imprisoned The Twelve so they could shape the world in the way they wanted. While greed certainly played a factor, it was not the only one. The Twelve had become corrupt. They did whatever they wanted because they felt they had the right to, and they certainly had the power to. Anyone who objected was killed outright.” A hard and bitter edge struck in his voice. “You will find very few history books that will tell of the atrocities The Twelve committed before their disappearance. Partly because they suppressed any activities that spoke out against them, but also because they were heroes to the masses. In the eyes of the people they could do no wrong. I had left a few such history books in the library in hopes that you would find them, but you never did.”

“If they are so terrible, then why would you support me in releasing them?”

He got that confused look again, trying to process what to say next. It took a great deal of strain on him. It appeared that he was trying to find the words to say without giving away any of his secrets, which only fed the theory I felt all along that he was hiding something important from me.

“Because when they are released from the Orbs they will never again plague this world.”

“What, you mean they will be killed?”

He nodded.

“I thought they couldn’t be killed. They are immortal.”

“Anything can be killed, some more difficultly than others. Those who imprisoned them didn’t have the means to do it, that is why they chose imprisonment until a time as someone came who would be able to finish it. Imprisoning them wasn’t an ideal solution because, as you can tell, The Twelve can still cause pain all over the world. It was the only methods they had available at the time; until the prophecy was fulfilled of the one who would be able to.”

“You mean me?” I exclaimed in shock. He only nodded in return. “I not only free them but kill them?” Again he nodded. “How?” He shook his head. He didn’t know. “You only know the What.”

“I do not know for certain. All I know is that when you free them and defeat them you will gain all their power. You will then use that to return home and defeat the Graxis. Releasing them will save this world because doing so will eradicate the Graxis threat for all time.”

‘He’s playing me, he can’t be trusted,’ the voice inside told me. ‘He knows that you want to return home more than anything in the world. He is using that against you.’ The paranoia settled in full force, and unfortunately I let it. I just about shot Drognaus in the face, but something held me back. My hands were shaking and my breath was rapid. Yet there was a strange warm sensation that rested on my hand. It was the feeling of comfort. It was the feeling of my wife holding my hand to steady it, almost as if she was there with me to prevent me from doing something stupid.

It felt like she really was there with me, and it reminded me of something, but I couldn’t quite place it. Like words at the tip of my tongue where I knew the answer, but just couldn’t get it out. I tried to conjure it up again, not sure if I would succeed. A revelation came about when I meditated in the hotel earlier, and I tried achieving that state of mind again in hopes that it would be effective. It made sense that it was a Psionic ability, which wouldn’t work here. But I tried anyway. I was desperate. The urge to fight back against the force trying to take the Orb away from me was strong. I wanted its power. I NEEDED it’s power. The hold it had over me was intense, and every time it struck me my body trembled. I teetered on the edge of sanity, trying with all my might to not shoot Drognaus.

I closed my eyes and tried to conjure up the image of her. It was a risky endeavor, but I had to do something. If it resulted in my death, then so be it. Drognaus would likely overpower me if it didn’t work, but I couldn’t continue like this. It was no way to live. The shame that I felt both in the things I had done since taking up the Orb and in the fact that I craved more of what it had to offer was insufferable. If my death was what it took to make this stop, then I would gladly accept it. I didn’t care anymore. I put my fate in her hands, even though she wasn’t really with me. I put complete and utter faith in my wife to see me through this difficult time, trusting in her as I had done so many times over the years to guide me onto the right path.

She didn’t let me down.

The image of her appeared almost instantaneously. I was in tears the moment she appeared. She stood over me as I sat on the ground, looking down on me, disappointed, shaking her head. This caused the tears to gush out more than anything.

“I’m sorry you have to suffer like this,” she told me, I could practically smell the perfume she always wore. “I wish I could tell you that this will be over soon.”

I looked on appalled. “What are you saying?”

“Sweetheart, I love you dearly. You’re not perfect, and I don’t expect that you ever will be. You have faced some hard decisions, and you will have many more ahead of you.”

“I want to let go of it, but I can’t.”

“Why do you want to let go of it?”

I looked at her, bewildered. “What do you mean?”

“Why do you want to let go of it?” She gently repeated.

“Because I don’t like how it feels. It feels tainted. I feel violated. I feel like I am becoming something that I don’t like, but I can’t pull away from it. I want you to be proud of me, but I know that you never will be if you saw what I am like now.”

She nodded in agreement. “What is it that you want?” Your voice was sweet and melodic, like that of an angel.

“I want to be back home with you. I want none of this to have ever happened.”

“Unfortunately none of that can be changed, but listen to me carefully.” She crouched down beside me. “Everything Drognaus has told you is true. You can get back to me, but that will never happen while you have the Orb. Getting rid of it isn’t giving up, it gives you a second chance.”

“How do I know I can trust him?”

“You know you can. Look into your heart. It is not easy to know what is right, so look at what you know is wrong.”

She was right. If there is anything I learned in Haven it was that the definition of ‘right’ was a very gray area. What was ‘wrong’, however, seemed very clear cut for the most part, whether you felt like you could do anything about it or not. We have always lived our lives together believing that if it wasn’t difficult, then it wasn’t worth doing. It got us through the hardest times. That was what she tried to tell me now. Giving up the Orb was currently the most difficult thing in the world for me to do. Because it was difficult was what made it worth doing. Everything about the Orb felt wrong. Everything I did with the Orb in my hand had felt wrong, but I justified it, and allowed Barthandolous to let me justify it, because it was easy.

It was easier to torture and kill the Carnivex spy than to apprehend him and let him come to justice. It was easier to walk away from our little fellowship than to face what I had done. It was easier to lash out at Gerald at the warehouse than to admit to the error of my ways. It was easier to rain down a hail of cannonballs, killing others, than it would have been to make either side see reason. It was easier to kidnap Drognaus than it was to sit down and have a have a rational conversation. It was easier to just kill him than it would be to hand him the Orb. It was easier to use magic that was given to me than to learn how to do it on my own. Just as I knew it would be easier to obtain an Orb by force from the owner than to convince them to join us; which I would eventually have to do if I followed down this path.

I wasn’t proud of a single thing I had done since I had accepted Barthandolous’ offer. I looked back and saw that I was, in truth, ashamed of everything I had done. Then it all became clear. The shame I felt was a reflection of what she would see. If she saw me then, had seen the things I had done, and could see the things I knew I would eventually do if I continued to listen to Barthandolous, she wouldn’t want to have anything to do with me. If I kept the Orb, continued on the quest, and managed to release The Twelve and return to her; she wouldn’t want me any more. Everything I would do, all the hard work, and all the sacrifice, would have been for nothing. All I wanted in the world was to be with her again. If I did it with the Orb, I still wouldn’t be able to be with her.

She smiled back at me with pride in her eyes. That was what got to me more than anything. All I wanted was for her to be proud of me. I knew that she couldn’t be here with me, but if I had faith that she believed I did good, then it was enough to keep me going.

I dismissed the image, and she went away immediately. I couldn’t stand to look upon her any more. I loved seeing her, but it hurt. I knew that it wasn’t really her, just an image in my own imagination. I tossed the pouch containing the Orb to Drognaus without another thought.

“Take it. It’s yours now.” He caught it clumsily, his left wrist appeared to be sprained. “Is that enough to fulfill the requirements to give up the Orb?”

“Yes, it will,” he nodded solemnly. “When we leave the dead zone Barthandolous will immediately reach out to you again to take back up the mantle. It doesn’t have to be in contact with you in order for him to do this. Are you prepared to resist that temptation again?”

“No”

He chuckled and feebly started to get up, “At least you are honest. It won’t be easy. You have already felt the power and have become addicted to it. You will need to be in a constant state of mental readiness, because the moment you aren’t he will come at you again. If he gets hold of you again you Won’t be able to let go.”

I nodded in silence, understanding the grim reality of it. I would never be fully free of Barthandolous. Even if I could become more like my old self again, he injected a part of himself into me that would never go away. That lust for power, even if it was only for a brief while, would be with me forever like an alcoholic constantly craving that next drink even though they knew it would set them back from years of progression. The rest of my life in Haven was going to be hell. No matter what I did, that lust for power will constantly loom over me like a dark cloud. I accepted it. I had to. The only other option was to let it consume me, and I couldn’t let that happen. The most important thing that I existed for was my wife. She was my Holy Grail. I couldn’t give up on my quest until it killed me. Considering I know sought to go after the other Orbs without one of my own, it probably would.

“What do we do now?” I asked, my voice trembling as my eyes zeroed in on the pouch in his hand holding the Orb.

“We find a way down from here and go back to the castle to lock this up so nobody can take it away from us.”

“Just like that,” I wondered. “You mean I’m back on the team?”

He looked at me, dismayed. “You were never off of the team.”

“Try telling that to Gerald,” I partially grumbled, but also wanted to make a point.

“I will. We will do that together. Gerald has become so blindly loyal to the cause that he has become extremely dangerous.” He looked over the edge of the tower. “How do we get down from here, anyway?”

I gestured towards the crumpled parachute. “You’re kidding, right?”

I smirked. “Yes.” I unclipped the radio from my belt and pressed the button. “We’re ready for pickup,” I called into it.

“Got it,” Droclin called on the other end. “The birds will be leaving here momentarily.”

“Our ride will be here soon,” I told Drognaus. “Are we really going to go after the Orbs together?” I asked after I put the radio back.

He pondered this for a moment. “Not right away. I will be able to convince them that you are an ally. The fact that I now have the Orb and you are still alive is proof enough of that. But I will not be able to change my ways right away without them turning on me for being corrupted by the Orbs.”

“So, what? I help you acquire more of the Orbs?”

“Precisely.”

“Business as usual for you, but we collect them with the intention of releasing The Twelve once they are all together instead of just putting them in cold storage.”

“In a sense, yes.”

It wasn’t a perfect arrangement, but it was a start. For the first time since I left his castle, I felt like I was on the right track.

We sat for a while and waited for our ride. Before long two sets of the giant birds flew towards us and landed on the tower. Compared to the descent with the parachute this was like floating on a cloud. When we reached the bottom, the stable where the birds were kept was nearly completely devoid of life. The owners of the birds were the only ones present, aside from Droclin. I had no doubt that Ferdinand lurked nearby in case things didn’t quite go as planned. I had little doubt that he would ever put any faith in Drognaus, and I was fine with that. It was good to have someone cautious on my side.

Droclin made a point of keeping the area clear. Kendrick would be all abuzz from seeing the parachute drop, and would be all over us in throngs trying to figure out who was behind it. It would be the talk of the town for years to come, and we really didn’t need the attention at the moment.

“Of course you were involved in this,” Drognaus directed at Droclin. It wasn’t a question, but a statement.

Droclin grinned, “Would you have been disappointed if I wasn’t?”

“Probably. It’s good to know that someone is looking out for him.”

“Likewise.”

It was odd really, almost like they had a secret arrangement. Yet at the same time you could tell that they didn’t. They were both looking out for me. They were doing it for their own reasons, but their reasons coincided with what I needed to get done. They had their secrets, of that there was no doubt, but they had my back and would continue to until it came time to part ways. They both knew what was coming, and it tormented them. These were people who traveled the world more than I would ever know and they were severely bothered by what was to come. If the price I had to pay for ignorance was to trust in them, then I was a willing participant.

As I looked at the pouch slung over Drognaus’ shoulder, I realized that Barthandolous never had my interests at heart. He only looked after himself, it just so happened that I could potentially benefit from it as well. With these two, it was the other way around. Owning the Orb prevented me from seeing this clearly.

“We had better go,” Drognaus said to me. “We need to find Gerald before he find us, or there will be no way to convince him before they attack on sight.”

I was all for that. I didn’t have the protection of the Orb anymore, and doubted I would survive a third confrontation with Gerald.

The giant bird ranch was near the outskirts of Kendrick and we walked the rest of the way, limping mostly. I couldn’t wait to get back outside of the zone for some good old fashioned magical healing.

When the rocks marking the border were in sight, Drognaus gave me a heads up.

“You can’t speak of The Twelve to anyone just yet. Let’s get them over on our side so they don’t kill you on sight first. You did kidnap me, after all. We will work our way up to it. It will take time, but as you know you have plenty of time on your hands.”

I nodded. I was back on track to the time before I met Barthandolous, learning what I would need to return home and save the world. I felt confident again that I would be able to do it. I had that feeling of invulnerability where nothing could stand in my way. I strutted to the edge of the border, just five feet away, with my shoulders back and my head held high.

Then I felt a sharp pressure on my chest and looked down to see what it was as I lurched backwards.

There was an arrow sticking out of the left side of my chest, right were my heart was. It didn’t even hurt, at least not yet.

“Now how did that get there?” I asked in a haze before I slumped over onto the ground.

The last thing I remember before fading into darkness was Drognaus shouting, “Gerald, No!”