THE RUNE-SHAPED MEDALLION

CHAPTER 1:

Walking along the narrow path, surrounded by high hedges, Clauren was trying to hear any unusual sound around her. Her leg was hurt during her fight with the dragon and she was sure that it was now following her. She didn't have the time to heal herself, so she just kept on with blood dripping behind her. She was so close to the last gate that she couldn't let herself get caught now. She had been half-walking, half-crawling along the same path for about a mile and she thought that she finally had to turn right.

After another ten minutes she reached a crossroad and she took the turning on the right without hesitation. But after another 200 feet she suddenly heard something on her left. She stared at the hedge intently and then drew a rune on it. The tattoos on her body glowed in red and blue and suddenly the hedge became invisible, but only for her. On the other side she could see a kain a giant ant-like insect one meter tall, two meters long, with thin poisonous horns. Only once they have struck her and she would be dead by ten minutes.

Clauren glanced at the kain for a moment, considering her options. She could try to fight it but she was too exhausted and she would need her magic to face possible obstacles ahead. She decided that she couldn't waste time and power on a creature that didn't even see her… yet.

Clauren took a deep breath and went on as quietly as she could. Her blood, however, obviously attracted the kain and it started to make its way through the thick hedge towards her. Clauren swore under her breath and broke in a run. She took the first turning on the right that she saw and then turned back to the left, trying to confuse the creature. The paths were growing lighter as she was getting closer to the last gate but it was still gloomy. Due to that fact she almost collided with a baby dragon, alone.

She was staring at it for a moment then she took a step closer to it. It didn't try to reach her, even though it could if it had stretched its head. It was injured and that made the situation easier for Clauren. She raised her hands, the tattoos on her body glowing, and she cast a complicated rune on it. Its eyes were transfixed for a moment then it looked at her intently and said:

"What does my mistress want from me?" Its voice was deep even though it was a baby.

"I want you to carry me on your back in the directions I command" Clauren answered and slid on its back.

The baby dragon was wounded but the magic made it forget about its own condition in order to follow its master's orders. It stood up and started running in the direction that Clauren had pointed out – to the light.

She traveled half a mile on the dragon's back but suddenly, as they were approaching a wider corridor, she felt the spell lift from the dragon. She jumped off it just in time: it suddenly spread its wings and started hitting itself in the hedges. It made such a great bit of rumble that Clauren, fearing that it could attract more dragons, tried to get away.

However, on her way back to the shadows, she saw the kain, but this time it had a friend. They were approaching her quickly. She ran in the opposite direction, towards the wider path, gasping for breath. By the sound of the wings she guessed that the baby dragon had joined the chase. Clauren was hurt so she had no chance in escaping them. She had to turn and face them with nothing but her magic… and her dagger.

She reached the wider path which was perpendicular to the one she had followed so far. Clauren stopped to turn her face to the creatures behind her but froze stunned. For a brief moment she saw where the wide path ended: it was the Last Gate! It was opened and bright light was shining through it. It was about 500 meters away from her.

Suddenly she felt a terrible pain in the chest. One of the kain had jumped over her and pushed her to the ground. Its horns were looking for an unprotected by the runes spot, to inject deadly poison in her blood. Clauren took a dagger from her knee-high boot and struck it in the kain's head. It could no longer harm her but as she was trying to put it away from over her she heard a great bit of movement.

A dragon, a full-grown one, was approaching. It was wailing loudly. Clauren froze. She felt so much better – killing a kain to be replaced by a dragon. Her clothes were stained with the kain's blood and it smelled so strong that there was no way that she wouldn't be noticed. From under the kain's corpse she barely saw the enormous figure stop close by her wailing loudly. As she was wondering what to do she heard the baby dragon coming closer from the narrow path. For an instant she thought that the dragons would unite against her but with a wave of relief she realized that the grown mother was just looking for her baby and had no interest in killing Patryns.

She saw the small figure unite with the larger one and they headed off to the opposite direction from the Gate. She almost laughed from relief as she stood up from the ground and forgetting the wound on her leg ran for the Gate. But she also forgot the other kain. It attacked her in the back, pushing its horn deep in the skin on the back of her left hand – the one space on her skin, that was not covered in runes.

Clauren groaned from anger, forced herself to turn and face the kain. Its poison was powerful and would paralyze her body – most importantly her heart – in mostly ten minutes. She knew she didn't have much time, for in the Labyrinth she wouldn't even dream of sleeping the healing sleep on the outside. She suddenly concentrated all her magic in destroying this kain – she might die, but she would take it with her, and she would make it as painful as possible. She was tracing the sigla in the air, her skin glowing red and blue and she let the spell in the kain's direction as powerful as she could. The runes surrounded the giant snake, covered its body and started burning the shell.

Satisfied, Clauren turned to face the Last Gate. It wasn't too far and she would be able to reach it if she didn't meet anything on her way. Holding her arm tightly, she tried to run as fast as she could with her wounded leg toward the glowing light. The kain's poison had started crawling up her arm, paralyzing it and fading the runes tattooed upon the skin. Halfway toward the Gate her magic stopped working and she had to rely only on her strength. And this wasn't much. With her leg wounded, blood falling from it she hardly moved.

She had fifty more meters to go. She couldn't stand the pain. She fell to her knees and started crawling to the Gate on four legs.

Forty more meters - she couldn't balance on her arm either. The poison reached her shoulder. Even if she made it through the Gate she would never heal that damage. She was surprised she was still conscious.

Thirty meters – she fell to one side and started pulling herself just with one arm. She knew she looked silly and she couldn't help it. She considered letting go. But she went on

Twenty meters – she was stunned with horror. Now that she was that close he could see that the Gate wasn't gaping open – there were bars. And she could do magic not better than mensch. Then she saw herself lying dead right in front of the last gate, after all those challenges, she would be stopped by some metal bars. Clauren shrugged and went on. Her right hand had started bleeding too but it wasn't a problem. Her left hand was senseless, and she could feel the poison reaching her chest, her throat, starting to suffocate her.

Ten meters – She was so close, she had to make it. One more push, and one more. She caught hold of the metal bars, smooth as If they were new. She was lying in front of the Last Gate, so close to freedom. The poison had already reached her heart, and was now reducing the beats slowly, painfully. With her right hand she concentrated on any magic she still possessed and drew a rune on the metal bars. The magic was simple, weak but took the breath out of her. The rune touched the bar and for Clauren's surprise melted the bars.

She put her hand on the other side and sensed fresh grass. She pulled hardly her body. She had closed her eyes trying to draw another breath. Her lungs were paralyzed, however, and she was only choking. She felt her body being pulled by gravity. She was rolling on grass; she was probably on the top of some hill. She lay still almost instantly. She was relieved now. She was out of the Labyrinth, she had made it. She felt soul was getting light, lighter than the body. It started floating up, as if through a small hole. She could see herself lying in the grass covered in blood, her poisoned hand turned stone-grey. But Clauren was content – she had beaten the Labyrinth, beaten the Sartan. Or had she? No the Sartan were still out there, enjoying the world they created.

She felt something strong catching her. It was like a strong hand pulling her soul back into her body, making her struggle once again. But she didn't protest. With her newly gained powers she forced herself to lift her right arm and place it on her fore head. The pain was blinding, but she hardly cared since she hadn't actually opened her eyes since she melted the bars on the Gate. With her hand on the forehead she had rejoined the circle of life and was now healing herself. The poison was starting to back off. She fell into a healing sleep, knowing that when she awoke she would be completely cured.