Chapter Nineteen: Imprisoned!

Rynn had spotted the elemental Ice Blade in a cave on the large plateau near the lookout tower but she was too hasty to realise that she had walked into a trap. Without any warning, the floor hinged open and she fell into a dark pit hitting her head on the rocks as she fell knocking her unconscious, her injury had affected her bonded Arokh.

An hour of so later, groaning in pain, Rynn eventually came around. Her head hurt where it had struck the rocks and the stony floor was bloodstained with her own blood. Rubbing her eyes, her blurred vision came more clear and she suddenly realised she was in a prison cell. She could see the other cells across the hall, empty bar a single skeleton. A mild panic began in her throat and she rolled over hoping to find her sword but the only thing in the cell was a wooden slop bucket and a broken chair. Her backpack had gone together with all of her healing potions. She ran her fingers through her hair stuck together with dried blood and walked over to the doorway, which was blocked by three vertical energy bars.

"How an I going to get out of here?" She asked herself quietly. Touching the bars meant certain death but there was room for her to put her arm between them. A lone Halfman guard patrolled the prison walking monotonously up and down, the thud of his feet becoming irritating as valuable time ticked away. As he walked past, Rynn noticed there was a bunch of keys attached to his waist belt. "If only I could get those keys" she thought. There was no other way out of the cell; all of the stones were solid and there were no windows, the only light came from the lit torches on the walls.
Rynn leant against the wall pondering her situation and what Arokh was doing; surely he would be worried. “What if he had been captured too?”  She thought remembering the Succubi capturing him a few days before. She had to go through hell and back to rescue him and she didn't want to do that again.

Suddenly, she had an idea. Magic! She remembered what Master Sevoth had taught her and to her joy she found she could still call forth the spell of lightning. She had no mana crystals so she knew she had to be accurate, she only had enough mana for three blasts.
Seizing her chance, a bolt of lightning leapt from Rynn's hand hitting the guard as he walked past. The stunned creature stood there for a moment, the shock immobilising him. Rynn continued and to her amazement and joy, the guard crashed lifeless onto the floor outside her cell door, his keys landing beside him.
Wondering if anyone had heard, she reached through the bars carefully trying not to touch them but they keys were just out of reach. "Damn" she muttered retreating back into her cell. Desperately looking around, she grabbed a leg from the broken chair and used it to knock the keys towards her.

"Thank the gods for that" she whispered taking them into her hands. The lock to disable the bars was just in reach, too easy she thought. A few seconds later, she was free and upon hearing voices ducked behind a stone pillar to hide. The Halfmen passed by unaware of her presence but they could soon come back so she had to move fast. There was nothing in the cells apart from a rusty mace which was not of much use but she took it anyway and began to look for a way out of the dungeons.

Rynn had been sneaking past Wartocks for most of her life. Since the death of her parents in a raid on their village, Rynn has had a bitter resentment towards the creatures and often accompanied the village 'warriors' on treks into their homelands. Stealth was an important tactic in getting deep into a Wartock's camp or base to retake a stolen item. Like Arokh, she had never encountered Halfmen until now but sneaking past them seemed to be easy.

Rynn hugged the wall hiding in the shadows. She could hear voices of at least two Halfmen nearby. A staircase led upwards out of the dungeon to her left but she had to go past the open doorway of the room the voices came from. A couple of shadows could be seen on the floor cast from the flickering torchlight within. For what seemed like hours, the shadows disappeared; Rynn knew she would now be out of eyesight. Quickly she tiptoed across the dungeon floor and ran up the stairs stopping at the top. In the room ahead, another Halfman was sharpening a weapon against a lathe; his back turned.

Seizing her chance, she ran across the room into the doorway ahead.
"Wha.. Umra!!" came from behind her as she was spotted. Looking back, she saw the Halfman turn around and come running over. With lightning responses, Rynn knocked the lever securing the portcullis open to the down position closing off the door with a loud clang. From what she could see, the portcullis could only be opened from her side. Smiling in its face, Rynn ran away from the Halfman crossing a large hall and into a natural tunnel again diving behind some crates in a dark corner when she heard footsteps.

"This is going to be hard" she muttered to herself as the Halfman passed by heading in the direction of the dungeon. It was obvious that the alarm would be raised soon so she decided to get moving running from her hiding place and into the torchlight. Continuing up the tunnel, it eventually led to a large room full of crates and several Halfmen were patrolling the area. A doorway could be seen to the right and a rocky overhang protruded over the cave where a few more Halfmen were stood on guard. Whatever the crates contained was very important.

Suddenly, the Halfmen seemed to go into a more alert position and began to search the area. The alarm had been raised and staying there would mean recapture; she had to move fast - the crates would give excellent cover. Standing up from her hiding place she was about to carefully make her way up into the room when something startled her.
"Umra Rumla Swampy!!!" a Halfman shouted from above waving his arms about frantically and pointing in her direction. She had forgotten about the archers overlooking the storage cave.
Rynn knew what 'Umra Rumla Swampy' meant; run away as fast as possible.
"Oh crap" Rynn muttered and ran into the cave towards the open doorway avoiding the Halfmen using the crates as cover. Several arrows rained down on her hitting the floor and crates as she scurried around. Making a run for it, she dived into the doorway hugging the wall out of sight.

Several voices sounded in the storage area behind and sounds of crates being broken open were heard. They obviously thought she had hidden in a crate; they were big enough for a human to hide in. As Rynn looked around the room, her face lit up with joy; there, in front of her were all of her weapons and possessions. Frantically fumbling about, she collected them all and threw herself back against the wall as another arrow went past. Peeping around the corner, she saw a large group of Halfmen coming towards her. "Not good, not good" she grumbled and ran out of the room towards a wooden elevator, thankfully on the same level she was on. Stepping onto the platform, it automatically raised taking her several metres upwards to the next level. As soon as she stepped off, the lift began to descend meaning she would soon have unwanted company.

"Take this!" she shouted cutting the rope with her sword rendering the lift useless. At least now things were easier, she just hoped the tunnel ahead led her out of the base or she was done for.
As Rynn had hoped, the tunnel led out into daylight but it wasn't into the snow-covered landscape she had hoped. She was standing in a large circular arena; its walls made of sturdy tree trunks. Another way out was ahead but as soon as Rynn walked into the arena, both huge wooden gates slammed shut.
"Now what?" She said out aloud.
"Now you die!" A voice came from behind. Rynn swivelled round on the heel of one foot and came face to face with Mulgalak, a Halfman about twice the size of the others.

"Arokh!!" Rynn shouted out of desperation hoping he had found a way out of the ice tunnel but there was no reply.
"It seems you are all alone" Mulgalak sneered looking down on her with scorn.
"Likewise" Rynn muttered but loud enough for him to hear. "Tell me, Mulgalak, why do you help the Desert Lords?" Rynn questioned hoping for an intelligent answer.
"It’s none of your concern. But seem as you are going to die, I might as well tell you. You see, they are beings of immense power and have great plans for this world... too complex for your tiny mind to comprehend."
"Hah!" Rynn snorted. "They plan to slaughter all humans and Halfmen once they have achieved their goals."
"No, you were mis-informed. Humans are a disease of this planet and must be exterminated. Together with the Desert Lords we will rule the world" Mulgalak continued bending over her to try and look more imposing.
"Wrong! Do you honestly believe Jassad? Come on. He plans to destroy you. Join me and Arokh and I will see to it that you and your allies are forgiven for your wrongdoings." Rynn pointed out desperately trying to persuade the Halfmen leader he was being misled and not to kill her.
Mulgalak frowned. "No, impossible. If I stop you, my mission will be a success and I will be rewarded well."
Rynn gave a sigh. "Its lies Mulgalak. The Order of the Flame is more superior and believes that all races have their right to live in this world."
Mulgalak laughed loudly and wiped his eye. "You amuse me, really. But... I have had enough. Time for you to meet your end. My way."

Rynn stepped backwards uneasily; eyes fixed firmly on her opponent. How she wished for Arokh to be there at that moment... She began to slowly circle him eyes darting about looking for cover and a way out but there was nothing. Despite the freezing conditions, beads of sweat began to form on her forehead.

Mulgalak went into a stance as he drew power from the elements of the world around him unleashing a ring of ice spreading outwards in her direction. She quickly jumped over the wall of icy energy remembering that it was very similar to the trap activated when she got the ice blade on the way to Rimril's tower. Rynn retaliated with her lightning attack but her mana soon ran out, she would have to resort to melee combat as mana regenerated slowly. Mulgalak came running towards her with his axe swinging wildly. There was no time to fumble about for a mana potion now.

Rynn equipped the trusty Earthblade using its secondary attack in an attempt to suck Mulgalak into the ground but he was too strong and kept jumping up before the ground closed in around his legs. "No, flamestrike" Rynn muttered selecting the formidable armour piercing weapon again avoiding another ice ring attack.

Lunging at the oversized Halfman Rynn slashed with all her strength into his side swivelling round for another attack and then ducking and rolling to avoid his axe. Mulgalak too relied on mana and clearly it was running out as his ice ring attacks became less frequent and Rynn noticed he never stopped to drink a potion. "Easier I guess... maybe not" she grumbled as his axe slammed into the ground beside her sending up shards of ice and snow. There was no way her armour would protect her against that thing, one hit would slice her in two, there was only one way to defeat him - her unsurpassed agility.

Rynn continued to circle, her eyes fixed in concentration watching his every move. There was two ways out of this fight; death and victory, the former was not an option. Mulgalak howled as searing flames went up his legs from the Flamestrike's burning blade slowing him. He went into another stance as his mana recharged sufficiently for him to use one more ice ring attack but Rynn was too agile for it to be effective. Taking advantage of his momentary loss of defence whilst casting, Rynn thrust the flamestrike into his back aborting the spell. Severely weakened, Mulgalak collapsed and lashed out with his legs knocking Rynn to the floor. He made a grab for his axe but Rynn's sword was quicker landing on his arm cutting it off in one blow.

Crimson red blood gushed from the wound and Mulgalak cried out in pain. "Your last chance. Join us or be defeated" Rynn said sternly getting to her feet, showing some pity on the creature.
"No. No way" he refused. "You won. Leave me to die in peace."
Rynn was a little apprehensive of his attitude; there was no way he would just let her walk out of there. "Really?" she questioned.
"Yes, go" Mulgalak panted painfully. He beckoned to a guard and the doors of the arena swung open. Shrugging, Rynn made a run for the gate in case he changed his mind. Gut reaction made her dive to the left; she didn't know why, she just did it. Mulgalak’s axe crashed into the ground where she had just been stood, a close escape.

Rynn decided to carry on regardless towards the lookout tower that was seen on the path up ahead. She killed the watchman with arrows and ran over to the tower noting a large lever. It had to be the one that opened the gate! Pulling with all her strength, the huge wooden doors opened below and Arokh came walking through. She was so glad to see him.
"Arokh up here!" She shouted.
Arokh's great head turned towards the familiar voice and he flew up to greet his bonded.
"Am I glad to see you" Rynn said thankfully walking up to him to pat his neck.
"Likewise" the dragon answered brushing her shoulder with his jaws as a sign of affection. His warm breath on her face was a welcome relief from the stinging cold. "Did you find the gate?" He asked sternly as he thought of their purpose of being there in the first place.

Rynn looked back at her companion with a blank expression and the dragon's shoulders sank in exasperation and disappointment. "Well, what did you do? I blacked out back in that tunnel. What happened?"
"Long story Arokh" Rynn said quietly and bitterly looking back up the path when she heard a sound but it was just snow sliding off some rocks. She looked back at the dragon and saw the look on his face. "Follow me. Ill tell you on the way."

Rynn began to walk back towards the arena, Arokh following behind.
"I walked into this cave and it was a false floor. I hit my head on something and I don't know what happened after that. I awoke in a prison cell."
"I guess you escaped" Arokh noted with a hint of sarcasm.
"Barely. I almost killed Mulgalak as well... that reminds me. He is still alive. I tried to persuade him to join us but he refused. Perhaps you could persuade him?" she asked stopping to face the dragon.
Arokh's quirked an eye ridge as he pondered the thought. "Good idea but I don't think we can trust them. Show me where this Mulgalak is” he demanded.

"In there" Rynn pointed out the arena where Mulgalak could still be seen lying bleeding on the floor.
"I see you did a good job" the dragon smiled as he flew upwards and into the ring. Rynn ran after him through the gate.

"NO!" she cried as she saw Arokh engulfing Mulgalak in a cloud of flame. "What did you do that for?" she snapped as she caught up with him.
"I told you we don't need such allies,” Arokh said angrily. "We have more important matters. I saw the gate over at the far side of the arena; you can't see it from the ground. We should open it and return to Surdana as soon as possible."
Rynn stopped to think for a moment. She remembered the trap where she saw the ice blade in the room ahead of the collapsing floor.
"I want to check something out first. I saw the ice blade back in one of the caves and we should try and obtain it" Rynn objected.
Arokh fell silent and eventually he answered. "Okay. Show me the way."

The Ice Blade was one of the easiest of the elemental blades to retrieve from its resting place. The trap where Rynn had fallen did not re-activate enabling her to walk straight into the shrine in which the Ice Blade rested. She had Arokh hold her should the trap activate but it was not necessary. As before, skeletal guardians looked over the blade but Rynn simply ran out of the way and back to the safety of her fiery companion.
Together, they made a quick sweep of the bleak icy wasteland looking for lost artefacts and any remaining Halfmen who could report their presence to the Desert Lords and returned to the gate. Within seconds the gate hummed with life and in a white flash the view ahead changed from snow covered mountains and hills to the glorious sight of Surdana City.

The evening sun started to spread its glow over the city as Rynn and Arokh emerged from the gate, the palace casting a huge shadow across the Town Square. Arokh narrowed his eyes and blinked to avoid the direct sunlight as he dipped his wings to land near the alchemists.
"The first thing I should do is get rid of some of these weapons, they are becoming too heavy" Rynn suggested as she climbed from the dragon's scaled back.
"Okay" Arokh replied shuffling to get rid of an itch under his scales. Rynn crossed the square and entered the blacksmiths to spend some of the money taken back from her enemies she had collected on her way through the Northlands.

"Ah, you again? You’re going to make me a rich man!" Brekk exclaimed as the tired and weary woman walked up to the counter. She gave him a quick smile and handed him the earth and lightning blades.
"Take care of these will you? I might be back for them later,” Rynn asked getting straight for the point, not bothering with pleasantries.
Brekk nodded and put them to one side. "Now what can I get you?"
Rynn stood there for a moment and eventually replied "I need a new bow, this is too short and my armour is worn. What do you have? I have more money now" she said with a smile revealing a handful of coins.

Brekk's face lit up with a broad grin. "Erhum.. Lets see, for that much I have this nice scale armour" He said walking over to a suit towards the back of the shop. "Yours for 4000 gold or I will take your worn armour and you can have it for 3500"
"And the bow?" Rynn continued.
"Rushy aren't we? Lets see... ah, what about this?" The blacksmith said unhooking a large wood bow from the wall and handing it to Rynn. She pulled its bow a few times and accepted. "Yours for 1200 gold" Brekk grinned as Rynn gave him a bag. She waited whilst he counted it and gave her the change and said her thanks and left to meet the waiting Arokh.

Chapter Twenty: Trouble at the Palace

"Rynn!" Arokh hissed. "About time you got here. There seems to be something going on at the palace, come on we had better hurry."
Rynn's face dropped, somehow she felt something was very wrong, what if the palace was under attack?
Without asking any further questions she jumped onto his back and they headed towards the palace forcing their way through the main doors upon seeing the two slain knights on the bridge.

The sight that met Rynn's eyes confirmed her fear. The palace WAS under attack but however the palace guards seemed to have taken care of the situation. A guard was just wiping the blood from his sword of the slain creature lying on the ground. Zola Dane, royal seer and advisor to Lady Myschala flanked him. They both turned and looked at Rynn and Arokh when they heard their approach.
"What is that thing?" Rynn asked cautiously walking up to the dead creature, which looked like some sort of undead walking corpse in the flickering torchlight. As her eyes looked around the palace, many more together with guards lay dead and bleeding on the ground. Clearly there was a long fight here.

"The Soulless" the guard said quietly shaking his head. "They are the pawn of the Desert Lords. They must have gotten into the palace somehow and they took us by surprise."
Both of them hadn't noticed that Zola Dane had disappeared whilst they were having that conversation. Suddenly a female scream sounded from within the throne room. Zola Dane had found the right moment to reveal his true identity...

Both Rynn and the guard ran into the throne room to see Lady Myschala elevating in the air clutching her throat, unable to speak. She was surrounded by a magical yellow glow which followed downwards to Zola Dane's outstretched hand.
"What do you think you are doing?" The guard shouted. Zola gave him a quick glance and sent a bolt of searing energy into his chest throwing him backwards killing him instantly. His eyes then turned to Rynn.
"As for you" he laughed. "You are nothing but a nuisance. The time has come to put an end to your plans."
"Put her down Dane!" Rynn shouted unsheathing the ice blade taking up a offensive stance.
"Look at you. You are pathetic... Hey stop right there. One move and her neck breaks" Zola sniggered as Rynn came closer.

"What are you trying to prove here Zola?" Rynn asked sharply.
Zola shook his head in amusement "The Desert Lords are the true power in this world, what you are trying to bring back are the inferiors - the dragons. If you succeed, the world will become a terrible place where the strong will bow down before the weak and there will be no place for the bold. I do not want to be part of a world where the likes of me will be ruled and dictated to by less superior beings."

Rynn became more irate. "The Desert Lords are evil. They have enslaved and killed almost the entire human race. Do you want to be part of a world full of death and destruction or a world free from war?"
Zola's face curved into an evil smile disregarding Rynn’s point of view. "But the world as it is now was caused by the dragon's failure."
"No!" Rynn snapped. "It was Navaros, a corrupt and evil man!"
"Ah yes, Navaros. A great warrior; he had real plans for the world until you and your wretched beast destroyed him. He got one victory though; just look what happened to your brother!" Zola shouted making the last part of his sentence more meaningful.

Rynn swelled up with anger remembering Delon's tragic death. "That's enough Zola. Let Myschala go now or you will die here."
"As you wish" Zola Dane said letting Myschala slump to the floor coughing violently.
Zola began to make for the door turning around briefly to shout back at Rynn. "You have not seen the last of me. Follow at your peril" and with those last words, he disappeared into thin air.

General Dherimon came rushing into the palace straightaway coming to Myschala’s aid, helping her to stand. She was still breathless but managed to whisper to Rynn that she was alright and unharmed.
"Arokh, come here!" Dherimon shouted to the beast who was waiting outside, he had seen what had just happened through the wide open doors. The majestic beast walked into the throne room slamming the door shut with his tail and a glared at them with a look of rage in his eyes.
"So, a traitor was he?" Arokh questioned referring to Zola Dane. His voice was loud and filled with anger as he spoke.
Dherimon nodded. "I knew there was something wrong about him. He was a spy reporting all of our activities to the Desert Lords. Undoubtedly he will have fled to the Desert of Tears to amass an army to prevent you from opening the two remaining gates. He may have even fled to Stratos."

"Stratos?" Rynn said puzzled then fell silent when she saw the look in Arokh's eyes; he had already explained about the place but nevertheless Dherimon gave a quick recap.
"Stratos is a set of floating islands brought up from the desert below. It is there where the Desert Lords rule from and if Zola has fled there, I would recommend staying away. Your goal is to open the gates, nothing else. Then we can take care of that wretch."
"A desert, here in these lands?" Rynn questioned.
"The Desert Lords have the ability to mould the land and environment to suit them. You will see the Valley of the Fallen is farmland but gradually turns to desert as you reach the borders of their climate spell" Dherimon explained.

Rynn nodded. It was a good explanation after all. "Perhaps we should go now to the desert" she suggested.
"No. You will need sleep also I need both of you need to make sure there are no more soulless around here before you go. You could do with you finding where they got in as well; the palace is rife with hidden passages and tunnels." Dherimon disagreed.
"But what about the army?" Rynn pointed out.
"Dherimon is right Rynn" Arokh said softly. "If we need to fight this army, we need to be prepared and fatigue is not our friend. We will sleep here tonight and move at first light."
Reluctantly, Rynn agreed. "Ill start looking for hidden tunnels whilst you do a quick scout from the air" she suggested. Arokh grunted in agreement and walked out of the huge double doors whilst Rynn began her trek through lots of cobweb infested tunnels deep within the forgotten parts of the palace.

Later that evening, Rynn and Arokh were again back in the palace, invited to the evening feast. As Rynn sat at the huge wooden table, she recalled the last few hours’ events. She had found where the Soulless were entering the palace which was through an old teleporter in an abandoned part of the palace dungeons. Clearly, the traitor, Zola Dane had something to do with it so Lady Myschala had the guards destroy the teleporter to prevent their return.

Arokh sat opposite at the table on his hind legs arching his back and neck as low as possible so he looked as less out of place as possible and Lady Myschala sat at the head with her royal guards filling the remaining seats. It appeared to Rynn that she did not have any family, she would have liked to ask but felt that it would be inappropriate to mention such matters.

They ate most of the meal in silence, Arokh exchanging glances every so often at Rynn and grimacing. The guards spoke amongst themselves occasionally but generally ignored Rynn; the only person who seemed to notice the atmosphere was general Dherimon.

“You not speaking Rynn, everything okay?” he whispered to her.

“Mmm…hmm” she mumbled swallowing her food. Arokh glared across, his red eyes glittering in the light. “It’s me isn’t it?” He growled, his voice startling the guards.

General Dherimon sent him a questioning glance but the dragon stood up angrily and stormed out of the room.

“What’s the matter with him?” Myschala asked looking up concerned.

“I don’t know, Ill go and get him” Rynn suggested leaving to follow her bonded.

She caught up with Arokh in another dining hall. “What’s up Arokh, are you angry with me?” she said. Arokh whipped round and gave a weak smile upon hearing her voice. “No Rynn. Not at you, I just felt out of place in there. Dragons do not normally eat with humans and it seemed like nobody dared to speak to me.”

Rynn placed her hand on his side. “It’s probably because they are not used to you. Come back and Ill explain to them. Try and make conversation.”

“About what?” the dragon asked.

“Oh, I don’t know, anything. Just join in the conversation, I’m sure nobody will mind.” Rynn assured wanting him to follow her back.

“No, its OK. Leave me here” the dragon disagreed. “Anyway, you didn’t make conversation much yourself.”

“I knew something was wrong, that’s why. Come on silly, lets both go back,” she asked again.

The dragon let out a snort and grinned. “OK, Ill apologise.” He said and followed Rynn back to the table.

“I’m sorry for my behaviour” he barked as he seated himself on the floor at the table.

“Don’t worry about it Arokh” Lady Myschala answered.

“Talk to him a bit” Rynn whispered to the guard sat next to her who gave her a deeply worried look. “Go on, he won’t bite.” Reluctantly, the guard agreed and asked Arokh about the days of the Order. He wished he hadn’t bothered, as Arokh became the centre of attention for the rest of the evening, the group around the table entertained by his fascinating stories.

Some many hours later, Rynn awoke suddenly upon hearing the sound of large wooden doors crashing shut somewhere within the palace echoing within the huge sparsely furnished rooms. She rolled over and tried to get back to sleep but sat bolt upright when she realised it was morning. Yawning, she remembered last night's events; Arokh and her had been treat like kings that evening and belching quietly she could still taste the food she had eaten the night before repeating on her. Suddenly a knock came at the door.
"Who is it?" She shouted.
"A guardsman. I was sent to awake you; you have a very impatient dragon waiting" came the voice from outside. Rynn quickly got dressed and left her room to see a burly guard standing there like a steel statue.
"This way Miss" he beckoned showing her the way downstairs and eventually into the throne room. There, Lady Myschala, Arokh and General Dherimon awaited her.

"There you are Rynn. You slept well?" Arokh asked.
"And you?" Rynn answered but Arokh was cut short when he tried to reply. "Enough of pleasantries. You have work to do" Lady Myschala snapped impatiently. She turned to Arokh. "Arokh, would you be so kind to tell your bonded about the current events?"
Arokh nodded. "Certainly" he answered turning his great head to his bonded, his eyes showing deep concern. "The mountain path entrance to the Valley of the Fallen is under attack. We must help our allies defend the gate that seals up the tunnel to the valley; its all that stands between us and Jassad's forces” he spoke gravely flicking his eyes quickly towards to Lady Myschala who acknowledged him with a slight nod.
Rynn shrugged and went to seat herself on a nearby chair. "Well, we had better get going after breakfast” thinking more of her stomach rather than the urgency of keeping the only line of defence safe.

Arokh gave a short laugh. "No time for breakfast Rynn. We must go now. Go to the alchemist and buy what you need; we will face more difficult enemies than what we encountered in the Northlands."
"More difficult!? Well, I'm glad you're with me. Just remind me not to stray too far from you." Rynn grinned uneasily.
Arokh gave a slight smirk and beckoned for her to mount him. "Come on, the entrance to the valley is a long way. We must go now."

Flying towards the gate to the valley and eventually the desert, Rynn realised an important element. If there were to be more dangers ahead, then her current weapons would no longer be sufficient. "This armour is durable Arokh, but I think we need to search for some better weapons,” she said tapping his neck to get his attention.
Arokh replied with a hint of anger in his voice "we don't have time now Rynn to search for more weapons, the gate is just ahead and I can see that the soldiers are against some heavy odds.”

As they got closer, Rynn could make out a giant, some wartocks and about 4 catapults. Arokh quickly took out the catapults and landed next to the giant, engulfing it in flames. Rynn leaped to the ground and ran to the soldiers’ aid, but suddenly felt a pain surround her throat. "Arokh"! Rynn yelped, and turning saw Arokh and the giant in a furious blur of flame, fur, scales, claws and teeth. Cries from both the giant and the dragon could have been heard for miles.

Rynn began to feel light headed from the difficulty breathing and knew that Arokh had little time. Fumbling to get a health potion out, and nearly choking and passing out from the pain, she drank the potion, giving Arokh enough strength to turn his teeth to the giant’s arm. Sinking his teeth into fur and flesh, he tore the arm completely off, and with a final blast of lighting, fried the giant to ashes.
Luckily, with Arokh destroying the giant and catapults, the soldiers had killed the rest of the wartocks and were helping the wounded as Rynn ran to her bonded and only family, who was sprawled on the ground and breathing heavily. Rynn could see deep claw marks on Arokh’s neck, and drank a potion to heal them. "Thanks Rynn" Arokh whispered, his throat still a little sore. A soldier put his hand on Rynn's shoulder, surprising her slightly, "will he be alright, can I do anything?"

"He just needs to catch his breath" Rynn said, with tears welling up in her eyes. Rynn placed her head on Arokh's forehead, softly rubbing his neck. Time seemed to creep slowing by as Arokh slowing regained normal breathing and full consciousness. "It doesn’t make sense, monsters appearing like that. Why would Zola Dane do this?" said the soldier.
"Because he works for the Dark Union" Rynn yelled, wanting nothing else at that moment but just to be in silence with Arokh. He was breathing fine again, but many feelings and thoughts clouded his mind. Arokh had never been attacked in this matter and he regretted landing so close to the damn thing. Holding back the fear and anger and speaking as assertive as possible “we have to get going Rynn. By now Zola Dane is probably already halfway to Stratos.”

“Are you sure you are alright?” Rynn questioned softly. With a hint of fear in his eyes, the dragon gave his reply. "That giant had more strength then I expected, it may be a good idea to get some better weapons before going into the desert. Perhaps the sorceress Jade may be some help."

Rynn verified with irritation "her tower is back in Surdana right?” Arokh nodded slowly.

“You can get some breakfast and some more supplies. “I know the castle has some food for you Arokh, it would be better then going out and getting your own” Rynn beckoned.

“I am well capable of getting my own food Rynn. Now lets get going” the dragon replied on a slightly angered tone.

The flight back to Surdana was stressful. Rynn could feel that Arokh was filled with anger and distress, his wings and body even showed signs of tension. She only wished she had a word to say that would calm him, comfort him. Remembering Arokh’s history, Rynn realised how devastating it must be to almost be taken out by a giant.

Placing her hand on the back of Arokh’s neck, she tried to reassure him.  “I am not disappointed in you Arokh.”

Arokh immediately stopped in mid air with such a sudden abrupt halt that Rynn almost knocked her head against his neck. Hovering in mid air, he turned his head to look at his bonded. Rynn had not known that dragons could cry, but in that moment staring eye to eye with Arokh, Rynn could see the faint swelling of tears, and understood just how deep the pride of her bonded was. Rynn wanted so much to just reach out and hug him, but she did not want to possibly upset him further. Arokh held back the tears, and looking away began flying again towards Surdana. In his mind he knew that Rynn understood his pain, and slowly the anger and disappointment faded from Arokh leaving only love and hope on his mind.

When they finally reached Jade's tower Arokh could not help secretly feeling that they had wasted 3 hours. It had taken almost an hour and a half to reach the path to the valley of the fallen only to turn back. They managed to fight off the attackers and realised that Rynn needed better weapons if only they were not so hasty to leave Surdana in the first place! The soldiers could have easily managed without their help.

Arokh landed outside the tower landing neatly on the small grassed area in front of the entrance with practised ease letting Rynn slide from his neck. "You go on in. Perhaps Jade could teach you a spell or two. All you know is to cast bolts of lightning which are relatively weak."

Rynn coughed and nodded. "Well, it may prove to be useful but I'd still rather use a sword if you know what I mean."
Arokh looked at her with a surprised expression than managed a slight smile. "Well, that I don't doubt but if you have the capability to be a mage or wizard then you should certainly make use of it. It’s a gift, not all humans are so lucky."
Rynn looked doubtful, unsure of what Arokh was getting at. She wasn't that interested in learning and with her current experience the spells she could produce would be useless against the creatures she had witnessed attacking the palace the night before.
"Well, Ill go in and talk to her. Why don't you go over to the palace for something to eat? Ill meet you back here in half an hour" Rynn suggested.
"That I do like the sound of" Arokh grinned. "See you later" he added flying upwards and towards the palace whilst Rynn ventured into Jade's tower.

"Arokh!!" Lady Myschala said in alarm. "What are you doing back here? I thought you were on your way to the Valley of the Fallen. Don't you think you should be on your way?"
"Don't you think you should shut up!?" Arokh snapped in anger and frustration. He sighed when he saw the look on her face which followed. She wasn't one to argue with the great red beast but she wasn't going to be offended in her own home in front of her guards.
"I'm sorry.” He quickly apologised. “I'm just.. Well, you know what I have been through. I came back because we found that we need better weapons; you were correct about the difficulties we will face" he added.
Lady Myschala's face remained blank and eventually she nodded and bowed. "Take whatever you need, Arokh."
Arokh laughed, his voice echoing in the palace "All I want is some breakfast and Ill take some for Rynn too. She is over in Jade's tower learning some much needed magic."
A faint smile appeared on Myschala's lips "This way" she beckoned showing him the way to the dining hall even though he already knew where it was.

Meanwhile, Rynn had just spent 3000 of her well-earned gold learning the combustion spell enabling her to make enemies spontaneously catch fire. It was difficult practising but she felt that she had got it, she would get the chance to use it later. There was little space in the small room at the top of the tower and it was full of bookcases containing ancient texts and scrolls and setting them on fire would not be in either of their best interests...
As she was about to leave, Jade called her back suddenly remembering something. "Rynn, I want to tell you something. I need you and Arokh to slay a necromancer for me."
Rynn turned round concerned. She thought that surely there wouldn't be anyone of such power nearby. "A necromancer?"

Elsewhere in the darkest part of the dessert of tears, Zola Dane had entered the throne room of the crypt keeper Gothraul. While pushing aside his guards, the traitor informed the Dark Lord of Rynn and Arokh’s progress. “Gothraul, prince of ghouls, Arokh with his bonded are on their way, I want you to stop them.”
Gothraul stood up from his throne in anger. He had already struck a deal with the Desert Lords to help them destroy his sworn enemy, Arokh and he wasn’t interested in a human telling him what to do. Gothraul had always despised the human race ever since the end of his mortal life and he didn’t particularly favour the Desert Lords either.

“We will destroy them when we see fit Wizard” he roared. “Get out before you join us.”

Zola Dane bowed and left the throne room as ordered.

Returning from the palace with a full stomach and a sack of food tied to one of his front legs, Arokh returned to Jade’s tower to find Rynn engulfing a bush into flames.

“Just what did that bush ever do to you Rynn” he remarked with some surprise in his voice as well as a smile on his face, happy that Rynn had learned a new spell.

Rynn turned to see Arokh land. “Practice makes perfect Arokh, besides I knew it would be a while to fill that belly of yours.

“Are you calling me fat?” Arokh said giving her a quick sideways glance. “Because I brought you some too and it was delicious” he continued while slithering his tongue across his teeth.

“Jade has asked us to do a favour” Rynn jumped in. “A gravestone with immense powers has been taken by a necromancer.”
“And what is in it for us?” the dragon replied scratching at an itch on his neck. He knew for well that this meant more wasted time.

“A blade that can absorb life, the lastat Blade.” Rynn smiled as she mounted her bonded lifting a scale where he had been scratching and giving the skin a good scratch for him.

“Alright” Arokh groaned, as Rynn bent back the scale a little further to clean out the dirt, realising she too was in need of a good bath.

“The tower is east of town, but lets go down to the lake first Arokh, we could both use a good bath, and I can eat then too” Rynn suggested. She knew the water would be cold but she wasn’t really bothered, it would only be a quick rinse. She would have got a bath that morning in the palace but she didn’t have the time with oversleeping and the urgency of the assault on the gate.

Arokh’s jaws curved into a satisfying and joyous expression and bolted down to the lake at the base of the cliff. There was a waterfall that ran from the river above, which flowed through the city that Arokh just could not stay away from. As Rynn ate her food she laughed with joy watching her bonded walk in and out of the falls, trying to get every part of his body washed. As Rynn was just finishing her meal, she noticed that he could not wash his stomach very well. “How are you going to get your belly washed Arokh?” she asked as she imagined her bonded sprawled on his back with the falls going the length of his body.

“Well if you are done filling your face, maybe you could help Rynn” Arokh suggested beckoning her to enter the water with him.

With excitement in her voice, she quickly replied. “Love to.”

Arokh walked out into the lake until the water was up to his knees, and then happily rolled over. Rynn undressed tying a nearby discarded cloth around her waist for privacy and swam out to the dragon, giving herself a quick wash in the process. “Surely Arokh won’t be embarrassed if I don’t cover myself up completely?” she thought to herself as she realised the cloth wasn’t big enough to cover her front altogether.

Rynn knew that it was her turn to give her dragon a bath, remembering that a stranger from the palace gave him one while she was in the Shadowmire swamp. Climbing onto his belly and with a sponge she found by the riverbank, Rynn began to clean and polish Arokh’s neck, belly and tail.

Arokh had found paradise; nature had created the perfect dragon bath, with a rock placed perfectly so his head was out of the water, allowing him to recline in harmony. With his neck finished, Rynn cleaned his belly and fell into a peaceful rhythm of cleaning, listening to Arokh‘s soft breathing. Lady Myschala and General Dherimon were watching from a palace window.

“Its nice to see a moment of peace for those two in all this evil” said Myschala as she turned away from the window. A few minutes later Rynn was cleaning Arokh’s lower torso, and got a very big surprise. “Owe ya, Arokh is definitely in dream land.” Dherimon giggled as lady Myschala left the room.

“Arokh!!!!” Rynn exclaimed while slapping the rear leg that was the closest to her. Without even a sign of embarrassment, Arokh’s modesty kicked back in.

As Rynn was drying herself and getting dressed, Arokh finally felt comfortable with the feelings of his bonded. Even though the biology would never work and the physical size of the dragon’s reproductive organ would be a problem, it did not matter. Rynn may be a human, but she had a heart and soul of a dragon. Carefully, Arokh rolled over and waited for her to mount him and then flew off heading for the Necromancer’s tower where Jade had indicated.

It only took a few minutes to get to the outskirts of the tower. Rynn came to her senses suddenly to the drop in temperature for the necromancer tower was above a glacier lake, suspended above by a stake going deep into the glacier. Rynn saw the tower and was puzzled by the size, but Arokh knew better not to judge something by its cover.

“Rynn, we have a problem.” Arokh said with concern.

“ What is it?” she asked as she sat more upright on his back craning her neck to see further. She could see some sort of winged skeletal being in front of them looking like the undead dragons they encountered near the rift.

“Bone Dragons Rynn. They are the dragon undead; they came from behind the tower taking me by surprise…Arrrrrrrrrr” Arokh groaned as a bolt nailed him in the hindquarters.

“There are two more behind us Arokh” Rynn said quickly looking back. To Arokh, she was the eyes in the back of his head and proved to be very valuable to him in combat.

“I just had those scales polished.” Arokh said with rage, as he tried to out manoeuvre them. But the bone dragons now were on all sides, and shooting bolts of lightning at point blank range. Arokh was to fast however and dove straight down as the dragons exploded from each others attacks which would have otherwise hit the red beast.

“No brains, what a shame” Arokh thought as he pulled out of the dive and landed on the top of the tower.

“Nice move Arokh” Rynn congratulated as he moved down his back to look at the wound. “Just a few burnt scales, Arokh.”

“Don’t worry about a potion Rynn, we are going to need them” Arokh said as he approached the entrance to the tower. Immediately upon entering, the surroundings changed from glaciers to nothing but emptiness. Surprised Rynn asked the dragon to see if he was any wiser. “What happened Arokh?”

They were still on the tower, but before them was a group of islands set up in a slowing descending corkscrew. “This tower acts as a doorway, it teleported us here.” Arokh explained while looking over the islands. “There Rynn, an island of graves, perfect place for a gravestone to be.”

“What is this place?” Rynn asked in bewilderment. The sky was jet black apart from the odd cloud formations that formed like menacing claws stretching across their field of view. It looked to her that they were made of fire and seemed to be pulsating as if they were alive. An eerie wind blew through the air making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

“It’s an alternative dimension created by arcane magic and necromancy. Its not of our world” the dragon replied quietly looking down at the floating islands below. He glanced off the edge of the path and saw nothing but swirling mists and fire below.

“What IS that noise?” Rynn shuddered.

“The wind?” Arokh questioned.

“Yeah. It sounds like… Screaming” Rynn gulped feeling a cold shiver run up her spine.

“The sound of many tortured and restless souls. There is a great evil presence here” Arokh noted. “Come on, I want to get this over as much as you do” he continued as he took off toward the nearest island.

“And with any luck, the necromancer and his body.” Rynn added.

“His Body?” Arokh asked, puzzled.

“Its why General Dherimon was not successful in killing the damn thing before, both the necromancer and his soon to be body, Kossa Vole, need to be destroyed.” Rynn explained, and then suddenly saw something shiny on one of the islands. “Arokh, I see the lastat blade, land now.”
“Say please next time” the dragon mumbled as he landed next to the sword, it securely stuck in a tree. Rynn suddenly froze. The tree looked dead but it was covered in eyes embedded in the bark that swivelled around and tracked them with their every movement. “Arokh. Look, its alive!” she whispered.

“I don’t think it can do us any harm” the dragon replied after looking the tree over for a few moments.

“Are you sure?” Rynn asked cautiously looking at the eerie eyes.

“Yeah” the dragon whispered back.

“Well, then, get the sword, you are closer” Rynn encouraged.

“Please Arokh” she said after a short silence. Arokh obeyed pulling the sword out of the tree with ease and handed it to Rynn, all the while rolling his eyes. Nothing seemed to have happened… Yet.

Skeleton warriors arose from the ground around them, but Arokh just took to the sky, sending a blast of lighting down onto the island. Rynn could not believe it when she waved it around in the air. “This sword is big, but it is lightweight.” This clearly was a worthwhile trip she thought.

“Hopefully it does what it is supposed to do Rynn, Now go and kill that necromancer” Arokh encouraged as he landed next to a cave entrance on the largest, bottom most island.

Rynn jumped off and headed inside. “Well luck is on our side,” she mumbled as he saw the necromancer’s new body floating above a pit of infinite darkness. After sending about 7 arrows into the thing, the body of Kossa Vole dropped into the pit.

“How dare you!” a voice shouted angrily as a wave of magic came hurtling towards Rynn.

“You will pay for destroying my new body,” said the voice. A mummy like creature similar to a Death Mage came floating over the pit, sending wave after wave of magic but Rynn dodged every blast.

“Time for you to die necromancer” she shouted in defiance whilst summoning up her new combustion spell which when unleashed, turned the mummy to dust. Rynn walked to where the mummy had come from and found the gravestone on top of a pedestal. “Time to get this back to Jade” she whispered.
Rynn returned to her bonded and showed him the gravestone. “Excellent Rynn, now lets get out of here.”

Returning back through the tower, Arokh saw a new breath orb floating above a glacier peak. Upon acquiring the new breath, Arokh knew that it had not been all a waste of time. With a wave of courage and pride in him, he explained his new powers to his bonded. “Sonic breath will take care of those Bone dragons with no sweat.”

“Sonic breath?” Rynn questioned.

“Yeah. Sends blasts of sonic waves; highly concentrated ultrasonic sounds compressed into a short space. Kind of difficult to explain really but all you need to know is that it can shatter small wooden and stone structures easily. Not to mention the flesh of our enemies” the dragon replied. “Now, lets get that thing to Jade where it’s safe.”

Rynn nodded in agreement and remained silent for the rest of the journey back to Surdana.

They soon reached Jade’s tower. "Be quick Rynn, We need to get back to the Valley of the Fallen." Arokh pushed as Rynn dismounted. Rynn gave a short “Aye” as a reply and entered the tower to give Jade the gravestone.

“So the necromancer is no more, you have done us a great service Rynn,” Jade said with great satisfaction. “As a reward, I will teach you the clone spell.”

Rynn's eyes showed signs of surprise and confusion. "You mean I can make a clone of myself?" She said a little fearful of the spell’s possible implications.

Do not be afraid Rynn," Jade commented. "The spell works by creating a diversion for you, while you are invisible."

It took forever for Rynn to learn the spell, but she finally mastered it and decided to liven up Arokh a little, knowing well that he would be getting very annoyed with the time she was taking.

Rynn went back to Arokh who immediately gave his opinion on how long she took. "What were you doing in there Rynn, Get on my back now!" He snapped impatiently.

Suddenly Rynn gave her opinion. "Come and get me, you ugly fat reptile!" she said whilst laughing.

Arokh was a little taken aback but when he was taunted more by his bonded he became more angry and immediately blew a stream of flame at his bonded but quickly stopped however when no pain was felt and saw Rynn that still in front of him without any injury.

"What sorcery is this?" Arokh growled in disgust, as Rynn disappeared. "A clone spell Arokh" Rynn said from behind a bush, "its used to distract the enemy."
"So you didn't say that I was ugly?" Arokh said. Rynn approached her bonded, "I would never say such a thing, I only did the spell because I disliked how pushy you were when I entered."
"Lets go Rynn" said Arokh with apologies.

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