Chapter 40
It didn't take long to get back on the road again after our lunch. We followed a path through the woods for an hour getting closer to the bridge we saw in on the map leading to the island. Along the way, we found growths of blackroot. Ifan immediately collected a batch of them and put them into his bag for us to use for the ritual later.
We were nearly at the bridge before we found ourselves at the edge of a small clearing. On the other side was a cliff leading to the lake. By the cliff's edge was a small shack. In front of the shack was a human man. Next to the man was a cage. Inside the cage were two creatures. I couldn't tell what they were from the distance we were at. But the man turned his gaze in our direction.
His eyes were brown, and his skin was a dark chestnut. His hair was black and formed into a ponytail while his mustache and beard were almost like Ifan's. He had a glowing mace holstered on one hip and a wand on the other. He was clad in a light metal armor. His pose was rather relaxed, regel even.
"Go on," the man said with a rather peculiar accent. "Step in from the shadows. Let's have a look at the wanderers lost in the woods."
I looked over at the others.
"Think he's our Source Master?" I whispered.
"Call it a gut feeling," Sebille winked. Ifan and the Red Prince nodded.
I adjusted my posture and stepped forward out of the brush into plain view of the man. The others did the same. The man raised his brows.
"There is much weakness in revelation. What upper hand you had; you've lost."
He then looked at each of us with a rather intense gaze. He brought his finger to his lips, as if weighing us on an unseen scale. After a while, he brought his finger down and showed a spark in his eye.
"I stand corrected. It is in revelation that you show your upper hand."
He looked over at the cage with the creatures inside. When I looked over at it myself, I could see what the creatures were: demons. Not vampiric voidwoken, but actual demons. One was a small doglike monster with only meat and bones for a body. The other was the size and stature of the Red Prince but with no tail. It had a jaw of sharp teeth covering nearly half of its face and said face was literally burning.
"The roads are rather dusty today, aren't they, Godwoken?"
The man's voice took my attention away from the nightmares in the cage. He walked up to us and politely bowed.
"Allow me to introduce myself: I am Jahan."
"Mahalia," I said. "And these are Sebille, Ifan and the Red Prince."
"Quite the company of Godwoken," Jahan said. "But who am I to judge? I myself am no ordinary man after all."
"I suppose that's because you're a professional demon hunter?" Sebille said looked over at the cage. When I brought my eyes back to the nightmares trapped within again, a violent snarl and rattling against the iron bars caused me to jump.
"Don't worry about them," Jahan said with a smirk. "But to answer your question, yes, I am indeed a demon hunter. Underneath that, I am what those with a flair for hyperbole call a Master of the Source."
"Well that's good because we're in need of one," I said.
"Of course you are," Jahan replied. "That is what Godwoken do. The answer to your next question by the by, is yes. I will teach you. But if you do something for me first. Quid pro quo, I'm afraid."
Of course there's a catch.
Jahan brought his hand up and beckoned us to follow him as he turned around. We did so as he led us behind the shack to the cliff's edge. He stopped to point to what lay across the waters.
Bloodmoon Island.
There it was. An island that lay not too far away from where we were. We could even see the bridge that led to it from the cliffs that curved around to the right of where we stood. But there were three factors that made it an unpleasant sight. The first was that the bridge was completely ruined. It almost seemed impossible to cross it even with my wings. The second was the dark aura that surrounded the island itself. It wasn't a dark fog or a cloud that hung above it like the one over Paradise Downs. Rather, it looked like the light of the sun didn't shine through properly onto the island, thus it looked like a dark blanket was cast over it. The third was the entire island was surrounded by Deathfog.
"Let me guess," I looked over at Jahan. "You're looking for something that's in the middle of that island and you can't get to it?"
Jahan gave an unfortunate grin to me.
"I've been hunting a particular demon for a long time. I've managed to track him down to that island. My caged guests have confirmed as much."
He faced me with his hands on his hips.
"Unfortunately, though I am I talented demon hunter, I am not immune to the effects of Deathfog."
"And you want us to solve the problem of getting there and hunting your prey for you," the Red Prince said as a statement and not a question.
"If I could, I'd do it myself. But under the circumstances, I cannot leave my guests unattended. So, my offer to you is you find your way to the island and kill the demon. Once that is finished, I will be your teacher."
I looked over at the others. They all had the same look.
"Well, we were going to go there for our own personal reasons anyway. Might as well complete something else while we're at it. You have a deal."
I held out my hand to Jahan. He immediately shook it.
"Excellent. Now follow me and take a seat."
He walked back to the front of the cottage. He sat down on the ground with his legs crossed in front of the cage. We sat down in front of him. The demons in the cage hissed and snarled but Jahan paid neither of them any mind.
"Let me describe your target," Jahan began. "The demon's guise, or vessel one can't be quite certain, is that of a lizard known as the 'Advocate'. Like all his ilk, he is kind. He is charming. He will offer you what you desire most at seemingly no cost at all."
He brought his fist up to emphasis what he was going to say next.
"There is no such thing as no cost at all. My advice is to strike him before he even has a chance to speak. But should you choose to disregard me, should you allow him to parley, all you have to do is say 'no'. Above all else, remember that."
I pursed my lips.
"Kill the demon before it can speak and if it does, just say no and kill him anyway. Sounds simple enough."
"It does sound simple," Jahan said. "But don't let yourself become overconfident. It is a common mistake many novice hunters make."
"Don't worry," I said. "We've experience killing monsters. We know to be cautious."
"Splendid," Jahan said. "But before you go, there's something more I want to discuss."
"Are you altering the deal?" the Red Prince asked accusingly.
"Not at all," Jahan replied calmly. "The deal still stands. You kill the Advocate, I teach you. But this other thing is something that could deepen our alliance and save a lot more people in the future."
"What is it?" I asked.
"You see, the Advocate isn't really my target. It's his master I'm after."
My eyes widened and I imagined the others did too behind me.
"No need to worry. I'm not asking you to go after him. All I ask is that when you kill Advocate, I'd like you to keep an ear to the ground and try to uncover the name and location of this Arch-Demon. You do that for me, I will go and face this monster and ride the world of his tainted influence."
As if the Godking was the only all-powerful entity we had to be worried about.
"If we learn of anything, we'll tell you when we come back with the Advocate's head on a platter," I replied.
Jahan grinned. He stood up and we did too. He shook my hand one last time and patted me on the shoulder.
"I wish you luck, fellow demon hunters."
Demon hunters.
That was a title I wouldn't have expected to have in my life. Then again, I didn't expect to have the mantle of Godwoken either. We turned to leave.
"Oh, and one last piece of advice."
I stopped and looked back at Jahan.
"When facing impossible odds, a clear mind is the best tool to overcome it."
When I heard clear mind, I instantly knew what he meant.
"Thank you, Jahan. We'll be back soon."
Jahan nodded and turned back to keep his eye on the caged demons. The three of us walked away from the shack a good distance before stopping to talk to one another.
"So… how are we going to get past all that deathfog?" the Red Prince asked.
I looked over at the darkened island past the mists of green death.
"I think we already know what the best way to get there is," Sebille said.
She held the Red Teleportation Pyramid in her hand. My brows shot up. I immediately reached into my bag and pulled out the Blue Pyramid.
"I suppose you don't have to worry about carrying us across one at a time anymore," Ifan said to me.
"Guess not," I said. "But…"
I looked at the island again.
"I don't know if I can travel that long a distance in a single flight."
"Well, you could practice longer flights out here before you throw yourself over the deathfog," the Red Prince said.
I could do that. But then I looked over at the ruins of the bridge ahead. I raised my brows.
"Let's get over there. I'd like to see something first."
We walked along the cliffside to the stone archway where the bridge used to begin. The archway was accompanied by several ruins of statues all around. We stood looking down the line of decayed pillars that used to support a stone bridge that stretched over the waters. The remains of the pillars stretched over the mists of deathfog. I'd be clear of the poisonous fumes if I flew on top of them. The only problem was, none of the pillars looked stable or flat enough for me to land on. But then I remembered a similar predicament at Fort Joy. I closed my eyes and spoke the words. When I opened them, I gasped and chuckled to myself.
"Ha! Clever. Very clever!"
The others followed my lead and opened their eyes. With our spirit vison, we could see translucent segments of the bridge held up by the remaining pillars. Unfortunately, the remains were too fragmented for all of us to simply walk through together. But they were in short lengths for me to glide over with my wings one at a time. I looked out to the darkened island. At the end of the bridge fragments, there was a wooden gate in the middle of another stone archway.
"You ready to risk your life to bring your pyramid to the other side?" Ifan asked me.
I picked up a rock and threw it to the nearest fragment. It bounced off the solid surface and rolled off the edge to fall through the green mists into the grey water below.
"It's worth a shot," I said. I looked over at Sebille. "You remember how to work that Pyramid?"
"Just touch it and focus your mind on the other pyramid," Sebille said.
"Also, it would be best if we leave it here," the Red Prince said. "Once we conclude our business on that demon infested island, it'd be beneficial to have an efficient escape route."
"Agreed," Sebille said. "We'll just hide it somewhere here until we get back."
She walked over and placed the pyramid in a small crevice underneath a rock propped against the base of a broken statue. Difficult for some random wanderer to find during the time we're gone. With our escape route established, it was time for me to cross the river of death to get to the Island of Death.
"Once I get to the other side safely, I'll signal you to come across," I said.
"Be careful," Ifan said. I grinned and gave him a nod.
I stood under the archway and took a deep breath. I unfurled my wings. I eyed the nearest piece of the bridge. I hopped two times and leapt off the edge. Two flaps and I glided onto the platform, landing gracefully. I looked to the other platform and repeated the process. Two hops, two flaps, glide, land. I repeated the process again and again until I was three quarters there. I paused for a moment to notice the light around me had faded. I looked up to see the sun was shining through without any of the clouds obscuring it. But everything around me was darker. I had entered the dark aura of the island. It wasn't like the decaying aura the creature in the middle of Paradise Downs created, but it left a foreboding feeling in my gut for what we were eventually going to face. Regardless, I sucked it up and flew to the next platform and the one after that. With a final hop and beat of my wings, I landed onto the edge of the stone bridge still attached to the island. I sighed in relief and retracted my wings.
I turned around to look at the other side of the bridge. I could barely make out the shapes of the others. Regardless, I inhaled a large breath and felt the fire in my heart stir. I unleashed a fireball into the sky. It glowed bright red against the darkness that stretched from the island into the air high above. I watched as the ball reached the top of its arc and slowly float down. It gently fell into the deathfog mists and disappeared as it touched the grey water below it. They most certainly should have seen that, darkened sky or not. I reached into my bag and held the blue pyramid in my hands.
Moments later, in a puff of smoke, Sebille appeared in front of me kneeling. Her hand was reaching out for the pyramid that was no longer touching her fingertips. Behind her, Ifan and the Red Prince stood with a hand on both her shoulders. They gasped and looked around before setting their gaze on me.
"Pleasant ride?" I asked them.
"It was the first time I was ever teleported," Sebille stood up taking deep breath. "I think we'll get used to it."
I grinned. I looked over at the boys. They nodded their heads in agreement.
"Alright then," I said putting the pyramid away. I turned to face the wooden gate.
"Rules of engagement: Kill on sight."
I looked at everyone else and they nodded. I looked back at the gate and sighed deeply.
"To hell and back together," I said.
"Together," Ifan said.
"Together," Sebille and the Red Prince said.
I walked up to the gate and pushed. The wooden door slowly swung forward. When the door was open enough, we slipped in one-by-one. Once inside, we caught a glimpse of what awaited us. Our feet were on a stone floor. Ahead was a statue of a hooded human man with bird wings on his back. Flanking it were two flights of steps leading left and right. Beyond the steps was a layout of pillars, archways and statues stretching beyond. And coating the surface of it all was the bloody puss that coated the interior of the cave we faced Redeka in and the Voidwoken birthing chambers. As you could expect, the smell that accompanied the puss was the familiar stench of decay we encountered twice already.
It's a demon infested island. What did you expect?
But speaking of demons, there weren't any around us. At least for the moment.
"So, what do we try to find first?" Sebille asked. "Anathema? Or the Advocate."
"Well, we don't know where either is," Ifan said. "So, it stands to reason we should explore to find whichever we come across first."
It felt foolish that we were going into this without a clear destination in mind and minimal preparation. But we were godwoken and we've faced threats big and small before. It was time we put the title of demon hunter to the test.
"Let's…" my eyes shifted left and right at the flights of stairs. "Go left first."
"Either is fine at this point," Sebille said.
"Just be sure to keep your heads on a swivel," Ifan said. "We don't know what's out there."
I took in a deep breath of the tainted air and exhaled.
Time to hunt some demons.
I took my first step forward onto the bloody puss with the others following me. We proceeded up the steps to the left to see a flat walkway flanked with pillars and statues covered in bloody puss. Nothing we could do but proceed and see what we could find here. With every step, I looked around me. We could be ambushed at any moment. And with every step, I felt more nervous. Was it a natural feeling even through we've faced monsters before? Or was it the island itself playing tricks on me?
"I know why you are here."
I spun around drawing my wand. The others drew their weapons and looked behind themselves too. But there was nothing behind us.
"You're looking for something."
I turned around again. But still, there wasn't anything except the bloody puss and the light of torches around us creating shadows in this shadowy place.
"Don't be alarmed. We don't intend to harm you. Unless of course, you force us too."
It had to be the Advocate. The voice was just as Jahan described. Kind. Charming. But the source of the voice was yet to be seen.
"You are godwoken. You seek to increase your power. We can provide it to you."
His voice felt like it was creeping into me.
"You and my master have a common foe. The Voidowken."
I felt like I had had icy fingertips on my shoulders while this lizard whispered into my ear.
"We can offer you the power you need to bring you one step closer to defeating them. All you need to do is ask and we will provide. Nothing more."
I shifted my shoulders. But I couldn't shrug the icy fingers touching my scales.
"If you accept, we can provide you with what you really seek in exchange for a favor."
I felt my breathing shake as the voice creeped deeper into my body.
"The location of the Council of the Seven, the place where you may ascend to fulfill your destiny. We can provide its location if you rid our little home of intruders trying to desecrate it."
The more he spoke, the more I wanted to listen.
When facing impossible odds, a clear mind is the best tool to overcome it.
My eyes sparked. I shifted my gaze around me. Below, I held my free hand relaxed at my side. I whispered the words and drew the rune in midair discreetly. I felt the spell surge up from my fingers up to my head. Instantly, I felt the soothing energy take over my mind. Soon after, the icy fingers were pulled away.
"What do say, Godwoken?"
The voice no longer had sway over me. It didn't feel like a whisper in my ear. Instead, I could hear where it came from. I dipped my head and turned my eye to the ground of where the voice came from.
"Do you want to agree to this mutually beneficial agreement?"
From the ground, I could see the faintest outline of a foot. A lizard foot.
Should you allow him to parley, all you have to do is say…
"NO!"
The whip of my wand ignited, and I swung it in front of me. The tip of it cracked against the flesh of something unseen. The kind and charming voice turned into a piercing shriek as the Advocate appeared. The flame of my whip created a scorching gash into his armor made of bones. He stumbled back both in pain and surprise. From behind me, I felt the relieving gasps of my companions. The words of this demon no longer had sway over them. Then, from all around us, several new figures appeared. Demons. Some literal like the demonic dog we saw in Jahan's cage. Others had the form of Rivellon's races: elves, dwarves, humans. Only they had twisted appearances and unnatural behaviors as they closed in on us.
"DISPERSE!" Ifan shouted.
I instinctively unfurled my wings and leapt into the air. Not a moment later, I felt the ground below me erupt into flames. I landed onto the ground and looked back. I could see the three others got out of the way safely. But I didn't get the chance to help them when I heard a sword being drawn in front of me. I faced forward to see the Advocate holding a curved longsword in his hands while looking at me with his oily black eyes.
"Such a pity," the Advocate said. "It would truly would have been a beneficial agreement."
"For you maybe," I took my stance with my shield and whip at the ready. "But not for me."
I swung my whip around at the demonic lizard. He parried it and dashed forward at me. I brought up my shield intercepted his blow. Another swipe, I blocked it. Then another. Then another. I brought my whip up and curved it around to get a glancing blow on the side of the Advocate's armor. He stumbled back and groaned in pain.
I had an opening. I inhaled and unleashed a frost breath onto him. He brought his hand up before the cold frost encased his body. When I closed my maw, I saw he wasn't completely frozen, but the ice clung to his scales slowing him down. He gritted his teeth and lunged at me again. The slower speed allowed me to get out of the way. I unfurled my wings and hopped over his head. While in mid-air, I turned around and unleashed a lightning strike into him. He spasmed from the shock. But when I touched the ground, he came out of his impaired state and started to channel some sort of dark energy through his body. It coursed through his arms and drenched his blade in a dark liquid. He readied his stance, ready to lunge at me with reckless speed.
Suddenly, an arrow appeared in his back. He turned around to see Ifan already loading his next arrow. With a quick glance, I saw that he, Sebille, the Red Prince and Afrit had taken out half of the demons that ambushed them. But I returned my gaze to the distracted Advocate. I saw my chance. I swung my whip around and, like the vampiric voidwoken I slew, it wrapped around the Advocate's neck. He dropped his sword and brought his hands to the chain around his neck, trying to pry it off. Like before, I channeled the fire in my heart into my wand. The fire in the chain blazed and burned into his scaly neck. He tried to scream, but the only sound he could make was a scorched murmur. As soon as the demon's fingers let go of the chain and his arms went limp, I pulled back on the handle hard. Like the vampiric monster I killed earlier, the head of the demon was cleaved clean off and his body flopped to the ground dead.
With the Advocate dealt with, I turned my attention to my companions. Thankfully, they held off their attackers. The Red Prince withdrew his blade from the chest of a demon elf, watching her flop onto the bloody puss dead. Everyone holstered their weapons as they jogged over to me and the corpse of my opponent.
"You okay?" Ifan asked.
"Yeah," I said. "Jahan was right, a clear mind is the best tool against demons."
"Good thing you did," Ifan said. "We wouldn't have been able to deal with his cronies by ourselves if you didn't silence him."
I looked down at the severed head of the Advocate. His tongue hung from his mouth and his oily black eyes stared blankly open. I took ahold of the head and held it by my side with a prideful smile on my face. The others looked at me in admiration.
"Congratulations," Sebille said with a smirk. "You are officially a demon hunter."
I nodded to her before I took out a blanket from my backpack and wrapped my trophy in it. I put it into my bag before looking at the body of my first demon kill.
"Looks like we won't be able to learn who his master is now, huh?" I said.
"Not from him," the Red Prince said. "But our demon hunter friend did say to kill this creature on sight. That means we can find who the Arch-Demon is from somewhere else on this island."
"The only question is where?" Ifan said.
Sebille was already searching the headless body until she pulled out a piece of paper from the corpse. She folded it open to reveal it was a map of the island. On it were several markings of labeled locations. Several of them were marked with the word "Vault." But one of the markings said "Archive."
In archives rest the blade. The path is marked; now on to isle embark.
"I think we found the place where we can find our other half of Anathema," I said pointing at the Archive marking. "And maybe we might find the name of the Arch-Demon there too."
Ifan looked around to get an idea about our position according to the map. Eventually he pointed to in the direction of the east.
"Stay frosty," Ifan said. "We might have killed the demon leader, but that doesn't mean there aren't more of them here."
With that, we were off.
Author's Note: Almost there. Just one chapter left and we can finally leave Driftwood!
As always, thank you for reading my story and a review goes a long way. See you next chapter.
