Refuge: Kurt's Quest (34 page)

A small stone hit Kurt in the helmet, falling
far enough to impact his helmet with considerable force.  His vision blurred,
his thoughts slowed, and the only thing he could concentrate on was putting one
foot into the next running step.  Another hit his shoulder, and he yelled out
in pain, almost losing his grip on the Dwarf.  The tunnel, an artificial
construct that cut through the rock, reinforced with well worked granite beams,
and promising safety.

The Immortal ran into the tunnel just as the
entire ceiling of the huge chamber came plunging down.  Rock dust flew into the
tunnel, choking cloying particles, and the members of the party hacked and
gagged as they tried to draw in air.

“Move,” hissed Kurt, shoving the people ahead
of him with his hands, determined to get out of the tunnel and back into the
open before they all suffocated.  Minutes later the entire party came stumbling
out into another chamber, one they had never before seen, the plume of rock
dust following them out and billowing into a cloud.  But several more steps
took them into the more or less clear air, and they were able to cough the dust
out of their lungs and start bringing in clean breathable atmosphere.

“I, don’t think anyone is going to get to those
evil things soon,” said Garios in a series of coughing words.  “The Blade and
the Armor will, of course, find their way back to the light of day.  Or the
shadows of night, so to speak.  But it will take ages.”

“That’s, horrible,” said Jackie, knocking rock
dust off of her armored shoulders.  “Those damned things need to be buried
where they’ll never be found again.”

“Unfortunately, they are God artifacts, and the
wills of their creators will bring them back to a place where they can be
used,” said Garios.

“And the Crown?” asked Kurt, his brow furrowed.

“It does not have a living God championing it,”
said the Dwarven Priest.  “It may still resurface at some time in the far
future.  But not in any time scale that we need to worry about.”

Though maybe that will not be true for the
Elves
,
thought Kurt, ruminating on that possibility.  He looked over at Jackie,
thinking about his kind. 
And we might see it resurface, even if it takes
ten thousand years.
  “But at least it’s nothing we need concern ourselves
with now.

There was general agreement and head nodding, and
Garios again looked back at the tunnel that led to the chamber where they had
battled the forces of the evil Emperor.  “And it is a burial chamber for
Fenris, where his body will be interned forever.  I wish he could be with us to
celebrate our triumph.”

“To fallen friends,” said Sir Gromli, raising
his sword to the ceiling.

“To fallen friends,” shouted the rest of the
party, holding their weapons up in salute.

“Now, let’s get the hell out of here,” said
Kurt, looking at his companions.

Epilogue

Ellessa Ellisandra, ex-Marshal of the Empire of
Ellala’lysana,
looked down from the height of the mountain into the valley below.  Men marched
through that valley, the remainder of his command, heading back to the home he
could never return to.  He had failed in his mission, and the only thing
waiting for him in his homeland as a grisly death, most probably filled with
pain.  His men would not have that responsibility.  They had only followed his
orders.  He had allowed the crown to fall into enemy hands. 
At least they
did the smart thing and disposed of it
, he thought, watching the last of
his men walking around the curve of the valley and out of sight.

Ellessa looked the other way, across the
valley, at the sun rising from the East.  His people were all over this world,
as far as he knew.  There was surely someplace where an Elalla of his military
skills would be welcomed.  The almost Mythical East might be such a place. 
As
long as I avoid the grasslands, and the human barbarians who roam them.
 
That would be another slow and grisly death, as none of those tribes had any
love for his people.

But these mountains end six hundred kilometers
to the east of here, running into thickly forested foothills.  And the forest
runs for thousands of kilometers, across the continent, home to many races. 
And, with luck, I can make my way through them to a kingdom of civilized
Elalla.
 
He smiled at the thought.  The odds were not good, but were much better than
what he faced at home. 
Fortunately, I have no family, nothing for him to
force me to return. 
His wife had died almost a thousand years before, his
sons in battle over the years.

The Elalla shouldered his pack and started off
on the mountain path to the east.  He should have felt the fear of the
unknown.  Instead, he felt the exhilaration of adventure, and the possibility
of actually serving someone who deserved his best efforts.

*     *     *

The Half Lich Emperor Ellandra Mashara cursed
the Gods once again as he looked into the dead scrying ball that should have
connected him to the Death Priest, Jakisanda Millistara.  
They have failed
,
he thought, cursing all the Gods once again.  Those who were supposed to aid
him, those who worked to stop him and his plans.  As far as he was concerned,
all of them could go inhabit their own hells for the rest of eternity.

“Your Majesty,” said a cowering messenger from
outside the door to the chamber.  “A message from the front.”

And I’m sure it’s just more wonderful news
, thought the Half
Lich.  Last he had heard, the enemy was still in his winter lagers only four
hundred kilometers from the capital of A’ataponia.  But the snows were melting,
and as soon as the rivers rose, then fell, they would again be on the march. 
And he wasn’t sure if his army could stop them short of the city walls.

“The enemy is starting to leave their camps,” said
the messenger, keeping his eyes averted.

“And the rivers?”

“They are swelling with snow melt, your
Majesty,” said the messenger, his voice strengthening a bit as he delivered
what was some good news.  “It will be a month before the fords are passable.”

So I have one month, maybe two, before they can
attack into my home territories
, thought the Emperor. 
Is that enough time?

“Send for my Archmages, and all the chief
priests of the Gods,” he told the messenger.  “I will meet with them in my
conference chamber.”

His eyes followed the messenger as the man all
but ran from the room.  He looked up to the ceiling, then down to the floor, not
really sure where his Gods resided.  “If you want to win on this world, you had
better start sending me some aid
,
” he said to those deities.  “If you
want the damned Gods of life to win, keep on doing nothing.”

The Emperor felt something come back, a
connection.  At first it was pure hate and anger, enough to leave him shaking
in the middle of the room.  And then came the information, the mind of Bothar
interacting with his brain, opening up the possibilities for the future.

A half hour later the Emperor walked from the
room, heading for his conference chamber.  He felt confident, his mind awash in
the possibilities that had been transmitted to him.  He couldn’t wait to
explore some of those possibilities, and to see the expressions on the faces of
his enemies when he brought death to their army.

The End

Doug
Dandridge is the author of over twenty self-published books on Amazon,
including the very successful, Exodus: Empires at War series, the Refuge
techno-fantasy series, The Deep Dark Well Trilogy, as well as numerous
standalone science fiction and fantasy novels.  In a two year period as a
self-published author, Doug has sold over one hundred thousand ebooks, plus
numerous copies of paperback and audio books.  He has amassed over 1,500
reviews across his books on Amazon, with a 4.5 star average. He served in the
US Army as an infantryman, as well as several years in the Florida National
Guard in the same MOS.  Doug, who holds degrees from Florida State University
and the University of Alabama, lives with his five cats in Tallahassee
Florida.  He is a sports enthusiast and an amateur historian.

Science
Fiction

The Deep Dark Well
Trilogy

The Deep Dark Well
:  An Adventure 40,000 years in
the making.  Pandora Latham was a Kuiper Belt Miner from Alabama.  She’s used
to landing on her feet, even when the next surface is through a wormhole,
halfway across the Galaxy and 46,000 years in the Future.  Pandora must
discover the secret behind the end of civilization, and the enigma of the
Immortal Watcher, the last survivor of the Empire that once ruled the stars. 
Her decisions will set the path for Galactic recovery, or a continuation down
the roads of Barbarism.

To Well and Back
:  Pandora Latham is back,
working Watcher’s plan to restore Galactic Civilization.  But first she has to
deal with the Xenophobes of the Nation of Humanity, back in the Supersystem
with their sights set on making the Galaxy their own.  Pandora is angry at the
hyper religious Nation, and you don’t want to make a woman from Alabama angry.

Deeper
and Darker
:  Pandora Latham is on the warpath.  Watcher, her lover, and the
only man who can once again unite the Galaxy, is a prisoner of the Totalitarian
government of the New Galactic Empire.  The Empire thinks they have the upper
hand, but they have never faced someone like Pandi, and the peoples of the
Galaxy that she has rallied to her cause.

The Exodus Series

Exodus: Empires at War: Book 1
:  The introduction
to the Exodus Universe.  Two thousand years prior mankind fled from the
Predatory Ca’cadasans, traveling a thousand years and ten thousand light years
to a new home.  Now the greatest power of their sector of space, things seem to
be going well for the New Terran Empire.  Until the enemy appears once again at
the gates.  And the years have not softened the aliens’ stance toward Humanity.

Exodus: Empires at War: Book 2
:  The saga
continues.  The Ca’cadasans attack at the moment when the government of the
Empire is at its most chaotic.  There are other enemies as well, waiting for
their chance to fall on the overwhelmed humans.  And a young man with no
ambition for power finds himself in the position he most dreads.

Exodus: Empires at War: Book 3
:  Sean is rescued,
but he is not about to go back to the safety of the capital without striking
back at the Ca’cadasans who have invaded his Empire.  But will his decision put
the lives of thousands at risk, as well as risking the safety of his own
Empire, by depriving it of its leader.

Exodus: Empires at War: Book 4
:  Sean is crowned
Emperor, and attempts to organize the Empire for war against the Ca’cadasans. 
But he finds that planning battles and winning battles are two different
things. Defeat follows defeat.  Can anyone snatch victory from the jaws of
defeat?  Or will the new Emperor fail before his reign even really begins.

Exodus: Empires at War: Book 5: Ranger:
 
Cornelius Walbroski enters the rigors of Ranger training, becoming one of the
augmented warriors of the Empire.  But his first assignment, Azure, is one of
the most deadly planets in the Galaxy, even prior to the coming of the Cacas. 
Can Cornelius survive his first mission?  Or will  promising career end before
it really begins.

Exodus: Empires at War: Book 6: The Day of Battle:
 
Sean and the Empire need a victory before human morale goes completely into the
black hole.  He develops a plan to bring the Ca’cadasans into battle in space of
his choosing.  But the Cacas are not an easy opponent, and they have plans of
their own, for the
Donut.

Exodus:
Empires at War: Book 7: Counter Strike
:  The Empire has weathered the
Ca’cadasan onslaught, and now it’s the time to strike back with an offensive of
their own.  A victory could win the war.  But will it?

Exodus:
Tales of the Empire: Exploration Command
.  Three novelettes concerning
another part of the Empire, and the organization responsible for pushing back
the frontiers of knowledge.  Come join Exploration Command as they go where no
human has gone before.

Other Scifi

Diamonds in the Sand
:  When a perfectly healthy
scientist falls dead of an apparent heart attack, it is up to Sarasota Police
Detective Lieutenant Gary Lariviere to find out what really happened.  The
scientist was working on Nanotechnology, a secret desired by everyone from the
Government to the Mob.  There are too many suspects, including the woman that
Gary comes to love.  The Army had made Gary better than human, but had they
prepared him for the terrors that had been unleashed by the new technology?

The Scorpion
:  The Scorpion had been the world’s
deadliest living terrorist.  Kestral McMann had been in on the kill.  Now The
Scorpion is back as a mind upload, using clones to penetrate the tight security
of an isolationist United States.  McMann is the only man who can stop him. 
But can McMann survive the threat of his own side, and the insane President who
leads the Nation, in time to stop The Scorpion from plunging the Great Satan
back into the Stone Age.

The Shadows of the Multiverse
:  Something has
been periodically wiping intelligence from our Universe through the ages.  It’s
back, and it’s up to three unlikely heroes, the Captain of a Battle Cruiser, a
Physicist turned Archeologist, and a Child, to save the intelligence of the
Universe from Monsters from another Dimension.  Can they learn to use the
powers of their unusual Quantum Minds to defeat creatures that have been
playing the game for billions of years?

Afterlife
:  What if you didn’t believe in the
afterlife of the World’s Religions?  And what if science offered you the
alternative, survival within the Virtual World of a computer, where your mental
abilities are magnified and you can do anything you want?  And what if the
World decided that your way was wrong, and declared war on you, meaning to
destroy your reality?  What would you do?  Afterlife, a tale of survival at all
costs.

We Are Death, Come For You
:  When aliens strike
the Tau Ceti colony, humankind knows that something bad is on the way.  They
prepare as best they can, but will it be enough against superior technology? 
The aliens are death worshippers, and only the extinction of the human race
will satisfy their evil intent.  There are wonders of tech on the horizon, but
can they be deployed in time?  Or will humankind have to depend on the smallest
of their techs to save them?

Fantasy

The Refuge Series

Refuge: The Arrival: Book 1
:  A nuclear war in
Central Europe opens the gates between dimensions, sending millions of Earth
Humans into a land of myth, archetypes and fantasy.  The Evil Emperor of the
Ellala Elves sees the humans as energy to fuel his transformation to
immortality.  But the humans have brought their own weapons with them, as well
as a race of Demigods who will battle the fantastic armies of Refuge.  The war
is on, and only one side will ultimately survive.

Refuge: The Arrival: Book 2
:  The Ellala have a
plan to destroy the human military and capture the civilians.  And the humans
find that their weapons will soon cease to function.  So it’s use it or lose it
for the Earth Humans, and they use it with a vengeance.  Tanks against Mages,
Attack Helicopters against Dragons, and Nuclear Weapons against Death Gods. 
And the other peoples of the planet come forth as allies to the humans that they
see as the fulfillment an Ancient Prophecy.  But will it be enough?

Refuge: Book 3: The Legions
:  The human invaders
are now without their technologies, at least those using explosives and
internal combustion engines.  But they still have knowledge of many other
techs, especially the arts of warfare as practiced by the greatest infantry of
the ancient world.  Will it be enough to stand up to the half lich Emperor and
his magical forces.

Refuge: Doppelganger
: Set thousands of years
after the arrival, Kurt von Mannerheim, the Immortal Emperor of the Imperium of
Free Nations, must give up everything to save his Empress, the Elfin Princess
Gwenara Elysius von Mannerheim.  The world is at a crisis point as the Evil
Tarakesh Empire, under its Immortal Emperor Heinrich Stuppleheim, prepares to
overrun the world with its Nazi Ideology.  And Kurt must face a creature of
legend that may prove too much for even his physical and mental abilities.

Other Fantasy

The Hunger
:  Abused wife, drug addict,
prostitute; Lucinda Taylor had been victimized by men all her adult life.  Left
for dead by her pimp, Lucinda was turned by a passing vampire.  When he is
destroyed she becomes a free agent, slaking her hunger for blood on the bottom
dwellers of society, the type of men who once victimized her.  The crime boss
of Tampa is her next target, and the City by the Bay is about to become a
bloodbath.  But can Lucinda avoid those who are hunting for her; the Priest,
the FBI man, and a pair of Vampires who would like nothing better than to send
one Avenging Vampire forever into the dark?

Daemon
:  A Steampunk Fantasy.  The world is
dying, the victim of the magic used by society for the last three hundred
years.  Daemon Corporation thinks they have the answer, stealing the life from
other worlds, bringing from other dimensions the intelligences that inhabit
them for sacrifice on Earth.  But something has come with them, a force that is
killing the employees of Daemon Corp.  It is up to Forensic Mage Detective Jude
Parkinson to find a way to stop the unstoppable, while keeping the head of
Daemon Corp from silencing him to keep the dark secrets of the company out of
the public eye.

Aura
:  Triplets are born on a world where the
magical Aura decides the fate of its owner.  Ariel is a girl with more than
double the normal Aura, destined to become a mighty Priest or Mage.  Aiden has
a less than normal Aura, and is destined to be a soldier or laborer.  While
Arlen has no Aura at all, and is seen as an abomination in the eyes of the
Church of Baalra the Dragon God, which has no power over those with Negative
Auras.  Fate will rip the siblings apart, then bring them back together as they
battle to defeat the Dragon God and leave the Evil Empire, before Ariel is
taken as the Avatar of Baalra, his mortal vessel on Earth.

Books with other
Authors:

Five By
Five 3: Target Zone
:  Novellas by New York Times Bestsellers Kevin J.
Anderson and Michael A. Stackpole, along with Prometheus Award Winner Dani and
Eytan Kollin, Baen Author Sarah A. Hoyt, and Exodus Empires at War Author Doug
Dandridge, make this a must have book for the military science fiction
aficionado.

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