Everville: The Rise of Mallory (5 page)

“I don’t think they can hear you from this distance, but let’s find out what they’re thinking,” Owen replied.

The substance only lasted a few moments, so Owen had to take another couple of drops. This time he knew what to expect from the elixir and how long its effects would last.

Once he made contact with the Mountain Dwellers, he could see that they had been spotted. Fortunately for them though, the Mountain Dwellers were not interested. More importantly, the Fwaylan usually took their lead from the Mountain Dwellers so for now Owen and the others were safe.

“We’re in luck,” Owen said.

“Let’s continue on. They aren’t planning to attack, but we need to speak with them.”

It took them another half hour to plod through the rough terrain and get close enough for them to speak, and by that time, the light from the sun was already half gone.

Owen made eye contact with one of the Mountain Dwellers, Krinjmar, who he had seen was their leader with the help of the elixir.

“Excuse me, but can we speak? My name is Owen.”

“I know who you are,” he said. “I’m not interested in speaking right now. We have things that we need to do, and we don’t have time to chat with the likes of you. Why don’t you go back your realm and leave use Mountain Dwellers alone.”

It was clear they were not about to help them, so Owen was going to have to use other methods. He took out the elixir and was about to take another dose when Asher stopped him.

“Wait, Owen,” Asher interjected. “Let’s try a little harder first. As you said, it may be good to have them fully with us first,” he said

Owen took his advice.

“Perhaps we can help each other,” Owen suggested. “I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name.”

“That’s because I didn’t give it, but it’s Krinjmar. How do you think you can help us?” he asked.

Owen paused.

“I didn’t think so.”

“Listen, we’re going to have to work together if we are going to defeat Mallory,” Owen said.

“Mallory? Why should I care about the Fron Mallory?”

“You haven’t heard?” Owen questioned in disbelief. “Mallory escaped The City of Worms with one of the juvenile dragons and has befriended it. He now possesses tremendous power and seeks to control the entire multiverse,” he said.

“In that case, don’t you think it’s Mallory that I should be working with?” Krinjmar asked.

“I know you are very deliberate in those with whom you make alliances, even if I don’t support them, but Mallory is not interested in taking sides. He is power-mad and seeks only the ability to strengthen his power. He is not even in this realm any longer, but there is a way that I can stop him, if I hurry,” Owen said with urgency.

“And how is that?” Krinjmar asked.

“There is a Keeper called Varstock who knows three of The Pillars of Truth. He can point me to the location of The Third Pillar of Truth, where I may be able to prevent further damage from what Mallory has done,” Owen replied.

“Ha Ha Ha!” Krinjmar said laughing. “You want an alliance with us in order to help you find Varstock? Varstock does not wish to be found. Even if we did help you and you were able to find him, Varstock would not help you. He is a ghost, barely whispered about.”

“Let us worry about that. What’s important here is that old battle between the armies of Them and Everville has changed. Mallory hopes to make his own alliances with the creatures that seeded the dragons and the races beyond either of our realms. He sees us as tiny ants and will step on us the first chance he gets. Our only hope is to stop him now before the dragon grows too large, and with it, Mallory’s power, which is linked to the element within it.”

“Tell me exactly how finding The Third Pillar of Truth will help with that?” Krinjmar asked.

“He’s going help me find a way to defeat the dragon and take away the element in it,” Owen replied with confidence.

Krinjmar saw what great concentrations of power did to his predecessor and the armies that followed him. Hoping to prevent the same fate, he took a few moments to confer with his men and then he responded.

“Don’t consider this an alliance. If we find you useful in the future we may consider it, but I will tell you what I do know about Varstock.”

“Thank you. I greatly appreciate your assistance,” Owen replied.

“The last time I heard the whispers about The Keeper you speak of was on the mountains beyond the concave valley walls. Good luck finding him,” Krinjmar said sarcastically.

“We’ll do our best,” Owen replied.

Asher looked up above them and noticed that the Fwaylan had left. The Mountain Dwellers receded into their camps, and Owen signaled for the ascent into the mountains.

Asher and Felix got the climbing equipment from their bags. Asher fastened the harness around each of them in the event that one of them should fall.

“We better get started before darkness sets in the valley,” Owen said with a sense of urgency.

Owen led the way, being the largest and heaviest of the four. Grenmar was larger than the Ubaloo but was much lighter, so he trailed in the back behind Felix.

Owen was nearing the top of the concave wall, but the light was fading fast. Grenmar had already fallen twice, but Owen hadn’t even noticed. Each time Felix easily pulled Grenmar back into position with no injury.

A few more moments passed and then they reached the top of the wall. Felix made a big sigh of relief, and Grenmar started jumping up and down. They sat there and rested, taking the time to drink some water and eat a small amount of food before forging ahead.

“How do you think we’re going to find him?” Asher asked.

“Quite simple,” Owen said. “I’ll just take a dose of the elixir every couple hundred feet once we get a little farther. I should then be able to see thoughts that lead me to the mind of Varstock once we get close enough to his position.”

“That is a reasonable plan. Let’s just hope you don’t run out of the elixir before we find him,” Asher responded.

Owen lifted up the small jar to see how much elixir remained. The jar wasn’t that large, less than half a cup in size, but since he only needed to take two drops for each dose, it should last quite a while. The only real question was how frequently he would need to take it. He didn’t want to miss Varstock, but he also didn’t want whatever creatures were in the vicinity to see into his mind if he accidently overlapped the doses.

Owen pushed ahead. They had finally reached the summit of the first mountain pass, and he took his first dose.

Owen trembled, and his knees buckled. Felix and Asher provided support, preventing him from collapsing. He hadn’t realized so many creatures were in the area. There were so many of them, but they were all hidden. Most of them were within the mountain itself. There were numerous caves, some natural and some not. More importantly, some of the tunnels that were constructed beneath the mountain went deep. They were too far down for Owen to sense the thoughts of everyone that resided in them. He would have to hope that the creatures closest to him would have sufficient knowledge of those deeper in the tunnels

Owen regained his footing and his mind quickly conditioned itself to the numerous minds in the area.

“We may have a problem. From the creatures nearby, I can sense that some of the tunnels and caves go very deep. We may miss Varstock if he’s at a distance too far down within the tunnels,” Owen said with some concern.

“Well, Owen, I guess we are just going to have to hope that wherever he is, there will be someone close by that you can sense who knows his whereabouts,” Asher replied.

Grenmar look worried, and so did Felix.

Owen took a moment to think back on the words of The Keeper. He could hear them in his mind: “Don’t be afraid to rely on the help of your friends, and above all, be patient and reflective,” he remembered The Keeper saying.

That was the answer.

“We’re just going to have to go slow, but we should also split up. There are several trails on each side of the mountain. They’re close enough where we can stay in mental contact if we each take the elixir, but it will provide us with twice as much range beneath the mountain,” Owen said excitedly.

“That’s brilliant, Owen,” Asher replied with equal excitement.

They took a moment to rummage through their supplies to find three additional containers so that they could divide the elixir equally between the four of them.

“Okay, here’s the plan. I’ll take the trail on the top of the mountain. Grenmar and Felix, you two take the two trails on the left side, and Asher you take the single trail on the right. We need to time it carefully so lets measure out our steps based on our stride and then we calculate how often to take drops based on the number of steps,” Owen explained.

They took a few moments to figure out how many steps and how long they had to count in their head, and then they went on their separate trails.

After practicing for a few trial runs, they each were able to tune into each other’s minds and better focus on the living creatures that surrounded them. It took some effort to focus properly, but they were able to continue with their plan.

They continued ahead and were about ready to stop and take a break, but on the last try they picked up something from the thoughts of one of the creatures within a mountain cave. Owen signaled for them to meet up on the top of the mountain and take shelter in one of the empty caves close by. They would camp there for the night and then continue their quest for Varstock at dawn.

The next morning, Owen woke the Ubaloo and Grenmar. After eating a meager breakfast, Owen was ready to take another dose of the elixir and prepare to find the exact location of Varstock. After Owen took the dose, he could sense the creature was still in the vicinity. It was preoccupied by mundane thoughts of assisting Varstock. From what he could gather, it was a servant of some kind that was beholden to Varstock.

Owen found the path to the cave dwelling, and the others followed closely behind. The trail led deep into the mountain, and they found that it was substantially warmer than the outside. A short journey later, they arrived at the creature’s dwelling.

The creature was close to the same size as Owen, but much slimmer. It had grey skin, large ears that flopped over, and long dark hair and bushy eyebrows. From being inside of its mind, Owen knew that it was a eunuch who, with the help of Varstock, had escaped the control of a cruel owner. The eunuch willingly gave his service to Varstock as gratitude for his rescue. It was the least he could do since most eunuchs spent their lives as slaves to brutal and hideous creatures.

The eunuch jumped back when it noticed Owen and the others. It started to retreat back into its dwelling.

“No. Please wait. We’re not here to hurt you. We’re here looking for Varstock. We think he can help us. It’s extremely important,” Owen said quickly before the eunuch had a chance to leave.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t know any Varstock, and I don’t know any other friendly people in this area. Why should I trust you?”

“Please listen. This is Grenmar, a marmook. This is Felix and Asher, Ubaloo from Brackenbone. They come from the surrounding lands of Everville. I have come from a distant land known as Earth. There was a great battle in The City of Worms, and one of our former allies, Mallory, has turned against us and has become friends with the sole remaining dragon that survived the battle.

“We believe he is about to use the power of the dragon to take control of all realms. If we don’t find a way to stop him soon, it will be too late. The only way is if I can reach The Third Pillar of Truth. Varstock is the only Keeper that knows where it is. We need his help,” Owen said with urgency.

“He’s not going to help you,” the eunuch slipped.

“So you do know where he is,” Asher replied.

“Now I’ve said too much. Please leave me. My master will be disappointed if he finds out I’ve told you,” the eunuch continued.

“Listen. I understand your concern, but the situation is very grave. We must speak with him. Your life, Varstock’s life, our lives, and everyone else’s in this realm are at risk if we don’t stop Mallory soon. Please, help us,” Owen pleaded.

Owen was about to take another dose, but the eunuch capitulated.

“Fine, but he’s not going to be happy.”

They were guided through a complex series of passageways. Even with the elixir, it was likely they wouldn’t have been able to find it on their own. Deeper and deeper into the mountain they went until they arrived at an inconspicuous depression on the side of a dirt wall. The eunuch pushed through, and an expertly camouflaged door opened.

“What’s this?” Varstock said angrily.

“Please don’t be upset. They made me do it.”

“Get out of here right this instant. Get out! Get out!”

“Wait, Varstock. A great evil has taken root, an evil far greater than Them and the armies in The Other In Between. If we don’t stop it soon, it will be too late,” Owen pleaded.

The Keeper Varstock had done away with all forms of power and connection. He no longer possessed access to a portal or any objects with unique properties; only the power of his presence remained. He had isolated himself in order to prevent others from finding him and to prevent the temptation of intervening in world affairs on the behalf of others.

“Listen, I have no way to help you. I have no portal. I have nothing. I live a simple life,” Varstock replied.

“But there is a way. I was told by The Second Pillar of Truth that I must find The Third Pillar in order to stop Mallory. The Keeper Carwyn has sent us here to find you. Mallory represents a far greater evil than Everville has ever known. All we need is for you to tell us the location of The Third Pillar of Truth,” Owen begged.

Varstock sat down on his stool. He had gotten rid of his staff and the garb that is worn by other Keepers. He wore an old tattered cloth covering that made him resemble a beggar. He stroked his chin and was deep in reflection.

Varstock sighed.

“Let me get you some stew,” he said.

Owen looked at Asher and the others somewhat perplexed at his off topic statement, but he thought it was at least progress that Varstock was willing to sit with them.