The Fate of the First Hero of Light
I wake up, my eyes slowly open, the light shines in. We are still in the other world. Ho...will we get out?""GEIR!" My wife embraces me."Excuse me Lassy.""Uncle Thandall" Mighty hands hold me."Geir son I'm so relieved!" "Thank you Uncle Thandall. Please help me up we have to stop this world." "WHAT DO YOU MEAN GEIR?!""Knight, Fire Mage, Zelda, Grandmother, Vivi you are all here?!"
"YES WE ARE!""I do not know what has transpired but I thank you deeply and honestly. If you arrived first or last. It does not matter. We fight now for the survival of our world." "WHAT DO YOU MEAN GEIR!" "Let us disable this machine first." says the Fire Mage.
We enter a giant room. Iron Golems are putting various parts on a moving table. Slowly they are assembling the machines we faced in battle. They Knight moves to crush them. "KNIGHT WAIT!" "GEIR SHOULD WE NOT DESTROY THESE! THEY BUILD THE MACHINES THAT ATTACKED YOU!" "Did all of you see them?" "Yes, Geir the broken ones you destroyed. We studied them after you lost consciousness. Sir Thandall also explained their functions and weaknesses." says the Fire Mage. "UNCLE THANDALL! DID YOU DISCLOSE ANY INFORMATION OF THIS WORLD!?" "No, Geir. I was waiting to ask you.""DO NOT SAY EVEN THE SLIGHTEST BIT OF INFORMATION!""Geir it is not like you to shout." says Zelda. "That is how important it is, that you know nothing of this world." "GEIR ARE YOU STILL ILL? IT WOULD SEEM FOOLISH, TO NOT KNOW AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE WHEN FACING DANGERS!"
"VIVI DO NOT SEARCH MY HEART!""I understand Geir!""If you would even hide it from Lady Vivilara! Then it must be of such an importance, I will not pry any further." says the Fire Mage. Everyone else agrees. "Very well. We can move outside." "WHAT OF THE MACHINES? THEY WILL KEEP ON CONSTRUCTING OUR ENEMIES IF NOT STOPPED!""I had destroyed them many times. They would then be replaced, the mechanisms of the machine would be fixed. I could not find a way to permanently disable it. I tried breaking the machines only slightly. So that there would be defects in them. Still others would arrive and correct or replace the parts.
Standing here and fighting would be fruitless. "Geir me boy. Do you know the truth of this place.""I do not know much. Only that if cannot stop this endless expansion. Our world would perish." "I see you know enough. Why leave then?" "There has to be more structures like these "Temples". That these Golems work unsupervised must mean there is another party controlling them?" "Yes Geir you are correct these "Temple's" are called "Factories". "These are truly frightening structures they are expanding infinitely."
"Geir what do you mean?" "Zelda there are no raw materials coming in here." "What do you mean Geir?" "Before I was overwhelmed. I scouted the structure nowhere are the materials stored. Yet the Golems keep on being built." "THAT SOUNDS IMPOSSIBLE!" "Sir... I need to explain...""UNCLE THANDALL NOT ONE MORE WORD!""I understand Geir. Thank you." "Still Geir we cannot go on like this. We need to know at least something."
"Fire Mage if there are two soap bubbles stuck together of different sizes a very large one and a small one. If you were to add air to either one of the bubbles. Which one would burst first?"
"It would of course be the larger one." "SIR... THE SMALLER ONE WOULD BURST FIRST. THE SOAP BEING THICKER AROUND IT, IT WOULD BE CRUSHED BY THE PRESSURE OF THE LARGER ONE INFLATING.""Geir, sir.. and sir... would both not burst at the same time?" "I see son, you have a clearer idea of what we thought would happen.""WHICH ONE IS TRUE GEIR?""All of them and none of them. We are going to stop the bubbles bursting.""Geir.." "Grandmother?" "Why is there no life here? I can sense for many long distances yet not even the slightest of life."
"Let us go outside." The grey rock is visible as far as the eye can see. There are only tufts of dried grass. I take the grass, I smell it, I want to taste it determine its properties ."GEIR NO!" Uncle Thandall hits it out of my hand.
"I see, let us move. Stay together and do not fall behind.""Geir should we not mark this area as you did previously in the world serpent?""We cannot enter here ever again." "WHAT?!" "The Dwarfs have most likely sealed the entrance, with the strongest mechanisms. The door can never be opened again.""Geir me boy. How much do you really know?" "Uncle Thandall I only know this place will not only end our realm, but if their might be others. They would also cease to exist." "I see let's go. I'll lead you to the root of this evil."
"Knight how is your Sword?" "GEIR IT WILL NOT LAST LONGER!" "Knight the magics are plentiful here. I bestow now upon you the mighty blade Rustbane." "GEIR I CANNOT POSSIBLY TAKE THIS!" "Knight there is no Warrior as mighty as yourself. This quest is of such importance. That even if I lose my place in the Dwarven Afterlife, if the quest is successful then that is small price to pay.""GEIR I ACCEPT THIS BLADE, BUT ONE CONDITION!" "Yes, Knight?" "YOU WILL ACCEPT IT FROM ME WHEN WE RETURN." "Very well. I accept."
I pull a rod from within the broken machine. I form a crystal around it forming a long sword with a black blade. "Grandmother here." I throw the blade she catches it ."Well done Geir."
There is a massive building made of a grey stone like material. There are many levels. I can see many windows. The Golems we destroyed are littered around us. We move to enter.
"Vivi stay behind me, support the Fire Mage. Zelda you are with Uncle Thandall."
"Knight you are at the front . I will move at your left slightly behind you. The Fire Mage is directly behind you. Uncle Thandall is to your right only a few paces behind." "I UNDERSTAND! WE WILL BE VICTORIOUS!" "What about me Geir?""Grandmother you can go crazy like you always do! Just break everything that can be broken." Everyone is laughing. A single tear falls from my Grandmother's face she wipes it away."You truly are my Grandchild Geir!" She leans in for a kiss. "ATTACK!"
The Knight kicks the door so hard it almost reaches the end of the hall. The "drones" are released they float in the air. I can hear the whizzing of the barrels spinning around. These ones shoot out projectiles. The smaller "bullets" are harmless, even my weakest ice can stop them. But the machines are hanging very low. They must be using the large projectiles. My Ice Magics initially stops them. Still they are made in such a fashion they still penetrate it. The amount of ice needed to stop them is to great. "Fire Mage now!" "The spell is done!" The hallways erupt into flames. The machine are impervious to fire and ice. "Vivi cast it!". They are encased in crystal. Falling onto the floor, they crack open and are destroyed.
Water pours down from the roofs to extinguish the flames. The Golems quickly fill the halls. They have weapons that function similar to bows. It discharges a magic similar to fire magic but at a rate almost unbelievably fast. The machines do not use magic. The power is stored inside the weapons.
Back to matters at hand. I freeze the wet floor. They slip on the ice and fall over like the fools they are. My Grandmother "kills" them quickly the crystal sword cutting them into so many pieces and in such a pattern. They could not function anymore.
"Uncle Thandall where should we go?" "Son up these stairs but first we have to destroy the data ba...""Uncle Thandall!" I shake my head side to side, he sees. "There are obsidian obelisks they have many wires of different colours. They must be destroyed. They are down this hallway to the left, there are many rooms. Inside the obelisks there are objects that look similar to long narrow silver canned goods.
"They must be completely destroyed!" "Knight, Fire Mage and Vivi go destroy them. Vivi encase as many as you can in crystal. Knight while busy destroying them, if the spell is finished and cast, go and shatter them. Then resume their destruction until the next spell is complete and repeat. Fire Mage you destroy the rest. Burn anything that is left to dust.""YES!""Geir we go!""Geir be safe."
"Uncle Thandall lead the way. Zelda behind me. GRANDMOTHER! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME CLEAR THIS FLOOR THEN JOIN US ON THE NEXT ONE!" We move up the stairs. They are waiting for us. Uncle Thandall hits them with his War Axe, they snap into two. "Geir me boy what you will see next I...""Uncle Thandall go, do not worry." "Yes..."
There is writing on the wall, it looks Dwarfish I cannot read it. The hallway lights up. Uncle Thandall moves to a silver looking case. "Welkom Dokter Stand tik asseblief jou kode..." I froze the plate where the noise was coming from. "Zelda mind where or what you look at. Do not examine anything with great care. Dull your senses as much as you can.""Geir I am scared why are you like this?" "Zelda you are a friend to me. I want to protect you, please believe in me." "A Friend? I see, yes we are friends Geir. Do not worry."
There are symbols on a board on the silver case. Uncle Thandall types a pattern in. I memorized it. The glass separating the room, opens like a slide door. There is a large medical device. I recognize it my Grandmother and Zelda use it to store body parts. It has a large metal case covering something inside. Uncle Thandall sits down in a chair sliding it in a peculiar pattern. My years of tracking giving me extremely good senses. The floor underneath the chair looks flawless but to my eyes I can see. That chair has been moving in that peculiar fashions for many suncycles. "Uncle Thandall you used to work here did you not?" There are tears flowing, the Dwarf is crying.
"I see, then this structure must be the cause of the misfortune." I pull the sheet obstructing the object from being seen. "Zelda what do you think?" "It is a cerebrum and a large one. There are pipes leading into it. These coloured ones are needed to keep the organ alive." "These rods what are their function?" Zelda shivers "Teela uses them to manipulate the creatures various synapses. They control the senses and the functions of muscles and limbs." "This metal cover what is it purpose?" "I do not know and the crystal surrounding the cerebrum. It must be for protection." "Uncle Thandall if we destroy this organism the "factories" will cease function. The Dwarf is looking downwards. I move to him and crouch down I put my hand on his shoulder. "Let us end this nightmare."
The light returns to his eyes he wipes the tears away. "Yes, Geir that object cannot be destroyed." "EXCUSE ME?!" my Grandmother enters the room. Not even 10 moments later there are parts of cerebrum everywhere.
"Geir I did not want to show you this. But since you started mastering crystal magics. I could not stand being inferior to anyone, not even you my most precious Grandchild. I could not master Crystal Magics. So I started training, to be able to manipulate any liquid not just water. Seeing as there was already much water in this container's liquid concoction. I just froze and expanded the water. Manipulating the other liquid separating them. Spinning into each other and against each other causing heat. I cooked the Cerebrum with the heat and just to be sure burst the container." Zelda is throwing up. When I heard the word cooked in the same sentence as Cerebrum I also felt ill. "Princess Teela you did it! In 1000 suncycles we could not achieve this!"
The Knight, Fire Mage and the Dark Elf walk up the stairs into the room. "GEIR WHAT IS THIS GREY MATERIAL" the Knight puts his finger in it and tastes it. "IT HAS A SLIGHLY SALTY TASTE!" Zelda's stomach has recovered, she is throwing up again. "Sir... do not touch that." "YOUR LADYSHIP! BRUTAL AS EVER! I COULD SEE THE TOTAL EVISCERATION OF OUR ENEMIES, WAS YOUR WORK!" My Grandmother is blushing. "Sir... you charmer!" "YOUR LADYSHIP!" his face is turning red.
ENOUGH!" I scream out of frustration."Geir the Golems stopped functioning is it over?" asks the Fire Mage." I believe so." "Geir do you not want to know the truth?" "Uncle Thandall you have always been the Mighty Dwarfen Warrior Thandall Deepstand. That will not ever change."
I am embraced by mighty arms. I think do Dwarfs also cry Mighty Tears. Time has passed. "GEIR WE ARE DONE! EVERYTHING HAS BEEN DESTROYED. WE CANNOT GAIN ACCESS TO THE UPPER FLOORS. THE CRYSTAL IS TOO RESILIANT."
"Zelda can you sense it?"
"Yes, living beings."
Finish.
