Deke Brolin Rhol (6 page)

Alongside Jayden, the elders turned to face the Ralcriff
. They knew they were simply barricades put in place to give the others a chance to make it to the Depot. With no weapons, they had no hope. They stood proud however, knowing the delay might give the young warriors a chance to retrieve weapons and save the remaining Lealians. 

T
he first two Ralcriff rounded the corner. Saliva dripped from their jowls at the sight of the Lealians. Their ghostly howl signaled to the Ralcriff advancing behind them that they had found their prey. Jayden immediately began to advance on them but the first strike would not be his. Six of the elders jumped in front of him and tackled the Ralcriff. It was an honorable gesture that cost them their lives in a matter of seconds. The Ralcriff stood proudly over their kill, their thick fur matted with the blood of Jayden’s brothers. They were joined by six more and several others moved in behind them. They stood and stared at the Lealians, as if looking for fear in their eyes. After finding none they bound toward them snarling, with their chiseled teeth gleaming in the torch light of the tunnel.

Jayden
heard a whistle of sorts and a slight breeze brushed by his ear. A Ralcriff was upon him causing them both to come crashing to the ground. Its foul breath turned his stomach. The weight of the beast made it hard to breathe. He instinctively lunged forward throwing the motionless creature to the side. Blood was spurting everywhere. More Ralcriff began to let out high pitched whines before dropping dead to the ground, feet from where he lay. He could see that Orler arrows were what caused their demise. The whistle he had heard had been an arrow flying by in search of its target. It had found its mark with no time to spare.

Oisin’s hand appeared in front of him and as Jayden grabbed it, he was pulled to his feet.
 

“Oisi
n, you have returned. Well done!”

Oisin passed Jayden a sword
. “Jayden, we came with all we could carry. I left Kaelyn and Palvoy at the rear to shoot Orler Arrows for as long as they lasted. I am afraid there were less than sixty at the depot. We could carry only five swords each. The thirteen elders standing behind you now have one, along with you and me.” 

“O
isin, you have done us proud.” 

The
Ralcriff continued to fall lifelessly to the ground as the Orler arrows twisted and turned around the Lealian warriors striking the beasts down. In the hands of a Lealian the magic contained within the Orler tree came alive. A Lealian needed only to think of their intended target and the Orler arrows would find their mark every time.

“K
eep moving back toward the depot until the Orler arrows have run out. Once that time comes we will fight with our swords. If one man drops at the hands of a Ralcriff, than the next will pick up his sword until victory is ours.” Jayden instructed.

The Lealian
s’ faces were beaded with sweat as they edged back toward the Depot. They all knew the Orler arrows would not last. It was not the sweat of fear but that of anticipation. They were born to fight, to protect their heritage.

Their gap to safety was closing.
Palvoy and Kaelyn continued to fire their arrows at a rapid pace. The Ralcriff stood no chance while the arrows lasted.  

Jayden was sure that the young warriors would have led the
women and children to the safety of the Depot by now. They themselves had only a short distance to go. Jayden had carefully counted the Ralcriff that had dropped to their demise. It would soon be time to fight with swords. As quick as the thought had crossed his mind, he heard Kaelyn yelling from the rear. 

“Shooting the last two arrows!” 

Two Ralcriff dropped in front of Jayden and the fighting tactics changed dramatically. Jayden took the head off the first one that neared his men. He was one of the most skilled swordsmen in Leal; his father had spent countless hours teaching him close quarter swordsmanship.

He
had dropped another three by the time the Lealian warriors suffered their first casualty. Many more would follow as the Ralcriff continued their relentless attack. It wouldn’t stop the Lealians though. They continued to strike out at the Ralcriff. If one warrior got tired another took up his sword; if one fell, another would pick his sword up, seamlessly continuing the fight. 

Jayden
glanced at the walls of the tunnel. The sparkle of trite stone glimmered back at him. This told him they were less than one hundred yards away from safety. It was time to save as many of his people as he could, and with that in mind he spoke.

“Anyone
without a sword in hand, turn now and get to the depot! We will hold the Ralcriff off. Close the gate and collapse the tunnel if a Ralcriff comes within striking distance.”

Lealian
s never backed away from a fight, but they did not question Jayden’s authority. Knowing he had the Lealians’ best interest at heart they reluctantly obeyed. 

Fifteen warriors fought the never ending onslaught of Ralcriff
as they backed their way to the depot. By the time the Depot was in sight only three of them remained alive, Jayden, Oisin and Aiden, who was one of the most respected of the elder warriors in Leal.

Jayden looked at them
admiringly. Both were covered in blood and gore. Aiden had use of only one arm and Oisin had several Ralcriff quills stuck into his side, no doubt from when he had tackled one to save Jayden.

Jayden himself had suffered the wrath of the Ralcriff quills and could feel them protruding from his neck. 
Jayden looked ahead to see more Ralcriff running toward them. With a heavy heart and a nod to both of them, he gave a final order.

“Collapse the tunnel!”

Deo led Deke deeper into the cavern; he gave off a glow which provided just enough light to see in the depths of the tunnel. Although Deke was still unsure of his surroundings and who Deo was, he followed him obediently. Deo was a welcome friend considering what he had gone through in the last few hours. 

At Deo’s insiste
nce they walked in silence. The cavern walls were laced in minerals of some sort that sparkled as they passed. After a prolonged period of walking in silence Deke’s imagination began to take over. The minerals became thousands of eyes glaring at him as he passed by. What were once stationary towering cones of molten rock hanging from the ceiling now appeared to come alive, jumping out in front of him.

It made Deke nervous
and he madly patted his pockets for any sign of the spearhead he had pulled from his cheek. For some reason it gave him some comfort. When he felt a lump in his pocket he sighed in relief. Although he didn’t know exactly why the arrowhead was so important, he felt some sort of energy when he held it. Unfortunately, as he gazed at the object, it also reminded him of the gash in his cheek, which in turn reminded him of the searing pain emitting from it. Deke placed the arrowhead safely back in his pocket hoping this would relieve the pain. It didn’t.

After several tense
hours of walking through the winding corridors they came to a dead end.  Deo faced the wall and began to chant in a low sort of grumble “Solert a piony du sa trquil.” 

T
he wall in front of them became slightly transparent. Deo walked toward it motioning Deke to follow him. It was a strange sensation as he placed his hand into the wall. It felt like he was dipping it into a cool stream, sending a shivering sensation up his arm. When he sidled slowly through his body became relaxed and revived, so much so he felt almost like he was floating. In mere seconds he was on the other side staring in disbelief at what surrounded him.

He was standing on the edge of a meadow of bright green grass that swayed slowly back and forth as if dancing for him in the wind.
A lone tree, which Deke could not identify, stood in the middle of the meadow. The tree’s trunk was at least fifty feet wide and it stood hundreds of feet high. Its long branches reached out over the entire rock ceiling and draped down over its walls almost touching the ground again. The leaves were a brilliant red. He could see an abundance of black fruit, about the same size as apples slightly hidden behind almost every leaf. 

A stream of water flowed steadily from a hole in the wall of the cavern and fell several feet into a flowing stream that cut its way through the grass and disappeared under the trunk of the tree.  

On the far side of the cavern, beyond the stream, the grass appeared shorter and well groomed. A small village carved into the stone wall stood out to him only because he could see hundreds of holes, some with no windows and others with brilliant stained glass colored in red, yellow and blue. The windows glimmered in the light which came from thousands of creatures the size of hummingbirds that glowed, a brilliant blue. The creatures flew freely around the cavern, stopping periodically for what appeared to be a rest on the branches of the tree. 

Deke
looked at Deo noticing that he no longer had any cuts or scratches and that the large gash in his forehead had disappeared. Deke himself no longer felt any pain and feeling his cheek he noticed it was completely healed. 

“Deo, what is happening, why…?”

“I have much to explain to you Deke and I am sure you have many questions for me. Let’s walk.” 

As he walked alongside Deo his mind flooded with questions, but he had no time to ask them before Deo began
to speak. 

“You noticed that we no longer have any injuries. The Wall of Solace heals anyone or anything that passes through it. You are in Solace, a hidden realm of Rhol, one of only three that remain in this world. The amulet you pulled from your cheek, please take it from your pocket.” 

Deke stopped and looked at Deo suspiciously “How did you know what I pulled from my cheek and for that matter, how did you come to know it is in my pocket?” Deke asked abruptly. 

“Because Deke, it was I who pushed you down onto it, watched you pull it from your cheek and then in the cave, place it in your pocket. I am sorry
. It wasn’t my intention to have it penetrate your cheek but then it did work out quite nicely.” Deo laughed.

“Quite nicely?” Deke shouted “I was chased and quite nearly killed by some vile creature that pursued me through the woods and onto the cornfield. The creature attacked me and I ended up here, wherever
here is. You were nowhere in sight.” 

“I was there Deke. It was I who guided you through the woods to the cornfield and then pushed you so you would land on the amulet and hopefully see it. It was your only chance
of escaping the Kaltaures that pursued you.” 

“
The Kaltaures, what on earth is that? And I think I might have seen you running beside me, don’t you?” Deke exclaimed. 

“No Deke, as I explained to you earlier
, I am your Paladin. Just because you didn’t see me does not mean I wasn’t there.” 

“Oh yes,
” Deke said. “I remember, you are my guardian angel, you have been there since I was born. Then why can I see you now?” 

“Please Deke
. Let me explain. Every human on earth has a Paladin. There are many names for us but there is a simpler explanation. You do believe that you have a soul, yes?” 

“Of course.” Deke replied. 

“Well you are right. Every human has an inner soul but what you don’t realize is that there is an outer soul that exists as well. Simply put, I am your outer soul. I cannot exist without you and without me you would walk aimlessly throughout eternity.”

“I may not know a lot of things but a soul comes from within someone’s body. You cannot see a soul, yet you look as normal as I do.”
Deke responded looking Deo over suspiciously. 

“And how would you know what a soul looks like, Deke? Have you ever seen one? Did you even know for sure that you had one, let alone two?”

Deke thought about this momentarily. He had always assumed that a soul was not visible to the eye, but then again that is only what he had been taught.

Deo sighed “You see Deke this is where it gets a little confusing. Your beliefs were partially right. On earth you are not meant to see me but I am part of you and I protect you. That is how it was designed. Souls are made up of energy. Your inner soul is protected by your body. The body materializes around your soul taking on its appearance. The outer soul is one with the Balance, the Universe. The outer soul remains as such, it has no body. While you sleep your outer soul becomes alive within your dreams. The outer soul helps you evolve by learning things beyond the comprehension of the inner soul. This will help you understand what lies ahead when your body dies and our souls become one. You can see me now because when we left our world my function changed. We are no longer guided by the laws of physics that encompass Earth. When we arrived here I became embodied. That is why you can see me. Should, we ever return to earth, this body will die and things will be as they once were. While we are here our souls will still function together, just in two different bodies.”

“If
what you say is true then where were you when I was being chased in the cave, and then trapped on the cliff with nowhere to go except to plummet to an untimely death! And where were you when a falcon appeared out of nowhere and saved me from being burned to death by a rather large dragon!” Deke asked rather annoyed.