Yazen (Ponith) (16 page)

It lights up some distance
ahead of us. Alex and Jenn each get a huge smile on their face. I’m relieved as well; we’re almost there.

We come to a large metal door with a huge lock on it. I wonder how we’re supposed to get in there. I wonder if one of the guards that we
took down has the key on them. I decide to run back to them.

“Where are you going?” Drakoe asks. He begins to follow me. I hold my finger up, trying to tell him one minute, but he continues to follow me.

I get to the guards and begin to search their pockets. It’s not on the first body. I begin to search the second body, still no luck. I was sure one of them would have it.

“I’m sorry, I thought maybe they would have the keys on them,” I tell Drakoe. I see
Alex and Jenn coming down to us while the Halflings stay behind to try to figure out how to get in the door.

“Good try. I didn’t even think of that,” Drakoe says. We all begin to search the corridor for the keys. I walk back to the stairwell, and I notice a small hook on the wall – the keys are hanging from it. I run over and grab them.

“I got the keys!” I yell as we all run back to the door. Now which key is it? There are five keys on this key ring. I begin to try each key.

Finally the last key that I try unlocks the large door. I slowly push it open, and it begins to creak loudly. The room’s completely black, so I cannot tell if anyone is in there.

“Everyone, grab a lantern off the wall so we can see when we go in,” I tell them. I grab the nearest lantern I can find. We all head back to the door.

“Is everyone ready?” I whisper. They all nod their heads in approval, and we begin to slowly walk in, one behind the other.

The lanterns give us a little bit of light, but not much. It’s still hard to see. I hear a whimpering noise coming from the corner. I slowly start to walk toward the noise.

There’s a
loud squawking noise and a fluttering of wings. I jump back, nearly knocking Drakoe over. We all begin to walk backwards toward the door.

“What was that?” I ask Drakoe. We all are back at the door. It almost sounds like a huge bird. I’m scared to go any further, not being able to see it.

“I have no idea. Whatever it is, it sounds big,” Drakoe says. We all look at each other in disbelief. Now what do we do?

“Maybe two of us can go back and get the others for help. The Dwarves have the lights on their helmets that are
brighter. They may light up more of the room,” Alex says.

“That sounds like a good plan. Luriss and Deree, would you like to go and get the others while we guard this door?” Drakoe asks.

They take off down the hall, sprinting as fast as they can. I know it may take them a little longer to get to them, being they are smaller than us, but I need a break. We all just sit down for a minute and relax.

“T
his has been a rough day so far; I’m starving. I can’t wait for this to be over so we can eat,” Jenn says. She’s holding her stomach. I agree with her; I’m starving as well.

“We’re
very fortunate to not have too many casualties,” Drakoe says. The only thing that runs through my mind is Champion. I really miss him a lot. I wish Korla didn’t use all of her healing water.

“I really hope we find Narissa
and I hope she’s okay,” I tell them. She has to be scared being locked up somewhere in this old castle. It’s so dark and decrepit.

“Wherever she is, I know she will be fine. She has always been a fighter, and I know she
’ll make it through this,” Drakoe says.

“Why would they take her? Is it because she has magical powers like you?” I ask Drakoe.

“She’s the strongest high mage that we have, and they know we can’t fight them without her. It was their main way of taking over the whole planet,” Drakoe explains.

“
I don’t understand what a high mage is,” I tell him. I want to know more about their magic.

“Sometime once we get back, I’ll explain it more to you.
I promise,” he says as he puts his head between his knees.

We sit in the
hallway for close to 20 minutes before we start to hear footsteps coming down the stairway. We all get up and have our weapons ready in case it is trouble.

Thankfully, it
’s the others. They head down to us, and there are a lot of them. I’m happy to see everyone again.

“I’m glad to see all of you and glad you all made it safely,” I tell them all while giving Nytril a hug.

“We were in the farthest staircase when the Halflings found us. The middle staircase was clear, and it’s just a dead end to the kitchen. The last staircase went through some rooms, but they were all empty as well,” Nytril explains to us.

“We found something inside of this door, but we do not know what it is. It’s too dark to see
a thing. Maybe the Dwarves’ helmets will give us more light to see,” I tell him.

“So, there’s some type of creature in there that sounds like a large bird?” Nytril asks.

“Yes, it made a squawking noise, and it sounded like wings fluttering,” I reply. “I think the Yazen gem is in there,” I tell him.

“If that is the case, we have a big problem up ahead of us. Normally something of that value is held by a Griffin,” Nytril says. The others gasp.

“What is a Griffin?” Jenn asks while holding her knife close to her chest.

“A Griffin is a legendary creature with the body, tail, and back legs of a lion, the head and wings of an eagle, and an eagle's talons as its front feet. It’s a powerful and magical creature that guards treasures.
It could have been brought here by the Dark Elves, as they’re not native to Yazen, much like the Harpies or the Manticore we fought.

“
If the Yazen gem is behind that door, then more than likely there is a Griffin guarding it. Narissa must be in there, as well, because I cannot find her anywhere else,” Nytril says.

“Do we have any chances of beating the Griffin?”
Alex questions Nytril.

“Yes
, we can. The Griffin’s weakness is fire, so we will take our arrows and light them on fire to shoot at the Griffin. I think it will be our only chance,” Nytril replies.

“We can use the
oil and flame from the lanterns to light the arrows. We just have to go retrieve some arrows from the courtyard,” Laderic says.

“That sounds good, son. Why don’t you, Drakoe, and Calina go grab as many as you can and bring them back here. Please hurry,” Nytril says.

Laderic, Drakoe, and Calina go running down the hallway, trying to pass the rest of the creatures. I wonder if I should go help them. I start to go with them when Korla puts her hand on my arm.

“Stay here and rest, Zac.
You’ve already done so much for us,” Korla tells me.

I really want to go, but I
do as she says. I look over at Alex and Jenn, and they both look exhausted as well.

“How’s your shoulder doing?” I ask
Alex.

“It feels fine now, but it seems like this mark on my shoulder is permanent. I can’t seem to get it to wipe off
. Like it scarred into my skin,” he says as he licks his finger and tries rubbing it off.

“Gross,” Jenn says as she
frowns at him.

“Korla, what’s this mark that’s on
Alex’s shoulder? He got it when I threw the dark flames at him and it won’t come off,” I explain to her. She looks at his shoulders and her eyes get wider.

“You had magic run through a small part of your veins when you were hit by
those flames. You may have further troubles with it down the line but for now all I know for sure is that it’s a permanent scar. Unfortunately I’m not completely sure because I have never seen this happen before; I’ve only read about it,” Korla says as she rubs her hand over his tattoo.

“Awesome,”
Alex says standing proudly, “It looks pretty cool in my opinion. I was thinking about getting a tattoo anyways when we got home, after seeing all of the Wood Elves. As sort of a memento to this trip here.”

When the Dark Lords put me under that spell, that was the
most alien feeling I’ve ever experienced. I hope that tattoo doesn’t hurt Alex in the future.

I hear something move in the rooms behind us and
I can’t help but wonder what’s going to happen next when we go to fight this Griffin. 

I sit down and close my eyes. I begin to think back to when Narissa and I were in the healing water together. It was so nice to have someone actually care for me back and want
to kiss me. I have to save her. She means a lot to me and I think she may be the one for me. I know that sounds insane if I say it out loud, but I really feel it in my heart. I know my grandpa would love her too; she is so kind and happy all the time. I hope my grandpa is doing okay without me there. I really do miss him.

“Zac, wake up. It’s time to go in,”
Alex shakes me. I guess I fell asleep and didn’t even realize it. I stand up, and everyone’s getting their bows and arrows ready. Calina gives me five arrows to use and my bow that I dropped upstairs.

“Thank you for getting these for me,”
I say to her. She smiles at me. We’ve become closer ever since our talk. I’m pretty sure she knows that I really do have true feelings for her sister now.

We
begin to head back in the room; the Dwarves go first and turn their lights on. The room lights up brightly, and in the middle of the room a large Griffin is tied to the floor. It’s an amazing creature to look at.

Behind the
Griffin are cages full of slaves. I see Narissa locked in a cage all by herself, away from the others.

“Narissa, we’re here to save you, hold on. We’re
going to get you and the others out of here,” I shout to her. The large Griffin squawks and becomes temperamental.

“Help. I’m over
here. Watch out for the Griffin but he can only go so far. He’s tied to the ground,” Narissa yells.

The rest of the slaves begin to scream
and yell for help as well. The Griffin’s getting upset with all of the noise and is trying to peck free from its bonds.

“Everyone, stand as far back in your cages as you can. We’re going to be sh
ooting arrows with fire at the Griffin in order to subdue it,” I yell. Everyone runs back to the furthest part of their cage.

We begin to
dip our arrow heads in the oil and light them up as we aim them at the Griffin. We all fire our arrows at the Griffin, some of them hitting it and others flying past it. It squawks loudly and fiercely thrashes around, trying to break free.

The Griffin lunges towards Jenn and she screams, running back toward Korla. Korla throws
her sword at it, accidentally cutting the rope, inadvertently freeing the Griffin.

The Griffin is furious now,
and it’s flapping all around with part of its wing on fire. The fire burns out after a few seconds and it keeps coming toward us. We all scatter in different directions trying to avoid it. A few of the Elves shoot arrows at it, but nothing is taking it down.

I remember that Caoell and Kumbricia both had staffs upstairs, and I wonder if I’m able to use them. I begin to run out the door. I guess I caught the Griffin’s attention because it begins to follow me.

“Zac, watch out! It’s right behind you,” Laderic yells. I catch Korla trying to intercept the Griffin to buy me some time.

“Korla, don’t
!” I shout, but it’s too late. Korla gets right in the Griffin’s way, and its razor sharp talons cut her up badly.

I can’t stop to check on her
; I have to get the staff. I think it’s my last chance that I have.

“Help Korla and release everyone from the cages. I will be back,” I yell.

I run as fast as I can. I can feel my heart beating out of my chest and my lungs are burning from running. I try to go up the stairs, skipping a few steps at a time. I end up slipping and cutting my knee on the steps. I turn back and notice the Griffin is beginning to catch up with me rather quickly. It damages the walls as it smashes into them. I start to hop up the stairs on my good leg.

I finally make it to the top and hop over to where Kumbricia’s body was laying. I fall to the ground and grab her staff and roll onto my back
with it. The Griffin’s hovering over me. I aim the staff at the Griffin and pray it will work.

I keep shaking the staff, but it is not
working. The Griffin’s coming down to finish me off like a worm. I hold the staff in my hands and begin to think of the fireballs that Caoell was shooting at me. Nothing seems to work.

I think I know why
, though. Every time I have seen someone use magic they have a gem in their hand. I look around me, hoping to find one close to me but I don’t see anything. The Griffin comes down and pecks at my head. I move my head to the side before it hits me in the face.

I look to my right and I can see it. It’s just barely out of my reach. I stretch my arm as far as I can and
barely touch it with my fingertips. The Griffin pops back up, getting ready to do another attack on me. I quickly move to the right, grabbing the gem and I hold it tightly in my hands.

My hands begin to warm up,
feeling like I’m completely focused, and every sound is drowned out. I can feel pressure building in my hand and I pull it across my chest to my other arm that’s holding the staff. As soon as the Griffin comes down at me, a large red flash comes out of the end of the staff, right into the Griffin’s mouth. It falls backwards and lands on its back, struggling to get up and thrashing wildly. I hop up and pick up Caoell’s sword from the ground, driving it squarely into the Griffin’s neck. I look over and notice that the pool of blood from my knee has dissipated from the ground.

It’s finally over
, I think, as I kneel down and I roll down onto my back. My knee is in excruciating pain and I can’t stand up on it anymore. More blood begins to pour out of it, and I can see part of the bone sticking out. I was so preoccupied I never noticed it was this bad. I begin to cry not just from pain, but out of happiness that we finally won.

I hear lots of footsteps coming up the stairs. I look over and see Narissa running toward me. She lies on top of my chest and hugs me. It’s so good to see her and feel her. I’m glad that she’s okay.

“I’ve missed you. Are you okay?” I ask her. She smiles at me and gives me a kiss on the lips.

“I’m doing much better now that I’m with you,” she tells me. Laderic carries Korla up the stairs and lays her down near me. She has a lot of cuts and bruises on her face and arms. She smiles at me and mouths “Thank you” to me. I smile back at her, and I see everyone walking around looking at the Griffin.

“Alex, look on the Griffin’s neck and see if you can find the Yazen gem,” I ask him. He starts to search the Griffin and finds a small black pouch wrapped around its neck. Alex cuts it off and brings it over to me.

“I think this is it
,” he says while handing me the bag. I look at the black pouch and open the top. I pour the contents onto the palm of my right hand. It’s a beautiful, shiny, green gem. It is the Yazen gem. I squeeze it tightly in relief and notice that I’m getting the same tingling sensation from it as the Earth gem. I look at it and it has a virescent glow. I put it back into the bag and I drop my head to the floor.

“I don’t think I can make it back with my leg,” I say to Narissa. She’s still as beautiful as ever. She is smiling at me and pushing my hair back from my eyes.

“You stay right here, Zac. Laderic and Drakoe will help you. How did you beat the Griffin?” Nytril asks me.

“I grabbed Kumbricia’s staff and tried to use it but couldn’t get it to work. Then I remembered that you use those gems and I got it to shoot a large fireball out at the Griffin. It knocked it on its back and I stabbed in the chest with Caoell’s sword,” I explain to him. I keep wincing in pain.

“You did very well, Zac. Here, let Laderic and Drakoe fix you up. I want to thank you for saving Narissa, our friends and family, and Yazen,” he says to me.

“You are welcome,” I say to him. My leg’s hurting so bad it’s making me nauseous. I can only imagine how K
orla’s feeling. She’s a trooper; she is lying there quietly. Jenn and Alex sit next to Narissa and me.

Laderic and Drakoe hover over my knee. This time they pull out a different gem. They pull out a pearl instead of their
usual emerald that they carry with them around their necks. I watch as they close their eyes, squeeze their pearls, and focus on my knee. I watch as the flowers on their tattoos light up and as they draw all of the white out of some Griffin feathers nearby. I can feel slight shifting pain in my knee but shortly after, relief. I look down at my knee and they have completely healed my knee back to normal. I rub my knee, bending it back and forth. It seems to be fine, like nothing has ever happened to it.

“How did you do that?” Jenn asks.

“Just a skill we have picked up,” Drakoe says with a smile. Laderic and Drakoe go over to Korla next, relieving her of her pain.

“I knew you would do it. Before you know it
, Zac, we’ll be going home,” Alex says. It’s a relief to know that we can go home at any time now.

“I can’t wait to go home and see Brad. I miss him so much,” Jenn replies. I notice a sad look on Narissa’s face.

“What’s the matter?” I ask her while holding her hand. She begins to tear up, still keeping a slight smile on her face.

“Now that I finally got you back, you will be
leaving to go home forever. I’ll never see you again,” she begins to cry into my chest.

Alex
and Jenn look like they feel bad for having that conversation in front of Narissa, so both of them get up and give us our privacy.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do yet. I haven’t thought that far ahead yet. Please don’t cry, Narissa,” I beg
her. We lay together until the Halflings bring us some food from the Dark Lords’ kitchens. I bet it’s the food they stole from us the other day.

We all sit together
quietly and eat, resting as Laderic and Drakoe heal the others.

“Thank you so much, Zac, for saving my family. I can never repay you for your generosity,” Korla says to me. She’s hugging me with a super tight grip. I don’t have much more to say so I just smile. I’m exhausted.

I walk around, looking at the mess that lies around us. Bodies scattered everywhere. I notice as Rowin, Kolin, and the other Centaurs and Fauns run around outside because they have their freedom back.

The
Dwarves and Halflings are eating together, laughing and telling their stories on how they helped win this fight.

Then I see Champion. I slowly walk over to him. He looks bad
, as he didn’t go down easy. I really hope that Laderic or Drakoe can bring him back. I call them over.

“Can you heal Champion for me?” I ask them. They both look at each other with a look of uncertainty. They begin their routine
. I sit back and wait for it to work but it doesn’t seem to be working. Why is it not working?

“Come on, Champion.
Please pull through; I need you,” I say to him. He’s not responding at all to their magic. Laderic and Drakoe step back, leaving me alone with him. I begin to cry and I bend down to kiss his nose. I wait for a few seconds then begin to stand up. As I stand, a few of my teardrops fall onto Champion’s cut.

I rea
lly thought they could heal him; I gave it my all. I turn and begin to walk away from Champion. I look up and see Alex and Jenn watching me. They have a sad look in their eyes like they are about to cry as well. As I am walking toward them, however, both of their eyes light up and their facial expressions change suddenly as they begin to smile.

I turn around and Champion is slowly getting up, healed and healthy. I run to him and hug him as hard as I can. He neighs loudly.

“How could this happen? I’m so happy that you’re alive!” I tell him, crying tears of joy. I have never felt so happy in my life. I climb on Champion’s back and have Narissa climb on too. She wraps her arms around me tightly as I hold on to Champion’s mane.

“Thank you both for saving him. I can never repay you for this,” I say to them. They both look at each other is surprise and step back as Champion takes us for a walk around the castle. The sky has cleared up nicely and the wind’s blowing in our faces. It has turned into a beautiful day. We r
ide around the castle, to the Dryads, and back to the courtyard.

“Thank you, Champion. Thank you for everything,” I tell him. I run over to a basket of vegetables and grab a carrot for him.

Nytril gathers us all up and smiles as he tells us, “Well, everyone, it’s time for all of us to head back home and return to our normal lives. We’re free from the Dark Lords and their Dark Elves, thanks to Zac. If it wasn’t for all of you coming together and working as a team, we would never have made it.”

We begin to pack everything up inside of the castle and
gather up the merchandise that was stolen. I look over at Ovvar and the other dwarves. They all have a sad look on their face.

“What’s the
matter, Ovvar?” I ask him. Everyone turns to hear what he has to say.

“We may have to stay here for now. I’m pretty sure our home was
completely destroyed by the lava. It would take decades to rebuild. Nytril, do you mind if we stay here for now?” Ovvar asks.

“Of course you can stay here. You can choose to live wherever you please now. It’s fine by me,” Nytril says.