Part 6 "Holy Comics"
Dressed in P'Orhkish armor the gang entered through the gate and climbed the stairs to the top of the wall. There a small footpath was carved into the roof of the wall surrounding the perimeter.
From his vantage point they could see several P'Orhks patrolling the top of the wall. El Evan drew out his bow, and felled every one of them with a silent arrows shaft. He waited patrolling the wall as the others snuck inside the main compound. "That big building that's where there holding them all I guess, it's the most heavily guarded."
Kon folded Aleks hands behind his back. "I'm afraid you're going to have to be Chewbacca. "
The gang approached the guards at the door to the compound. Aleks was carted before them his P'Orhkish armor removed. "Uh prisoner transfer from sector 7 g."
The guard moved sleepily out of his way as Kon rushed past him with the keys to the compound door. He quickly tried several of the keys before coming across the proper one. He opened the door wide breaking the key off in the lock.
Aleks used this opportunity to free himself from his bonds.
He dropped the spiked ball in his hands and the chain he had coiled around his wrist spiraled off beneath him.
The P'Orhk who had been at the door came forward to attack him.
Aleks swung his ball and chain striking the P'Orhk firmly in the chin, slamming his entire face backwards.
El Evan loosed several arrows from the top of the wall felling as many of the P'Orhks as he could.
Cassie used her sword with deft skill, walking through the P'Orhks cutting them down where they stood. Soon all the small number of guards that guarded the compound lay sprawled before them dead.
Bart sat cross-legged under the tree near the scrying pool. The people were gathered around him and he delivered sage wisdom unto them, as was his custom lately. "The sky is up in the sky."
He thought for a moment. "Unless you were talking about the sky on the other side of the world, then the sky is down in the sky. Well not from the point of view of the people on the other side of the world, to them the sky would be right side up inside of upsidedown."
He nodded sagely.
A DeWorfer and short El Fvis came before Impulse. "Oh Wise Aeker."
"I am Toelkeen of the Howbritt clan and this is my friend El Dalee son of El Salvador. We have a problem."
El Dalee spoke. "There has been much fighting lately over the legends and the stories of the gods."
Toelkeen continued. "We felt that everybody should be able to hear the legends but…"
El Dalee continued. "The El Fvis put their stories on fine tapestries painted on the bark of the trees in the Garden of Legends."
"And the DeWorfers put all their sacred writings on the slates." Toelkeen added.
"C'mon guys! Your solution is simple. All you have to do is put the words and the pictures together. You just need to make a comic book."
"A comic book?" They stared at him confused.
"Yeah sure." He grabbed El Dalee's detailed sketchpad, and drew over it. "See you just need to put in panels and speech balloons."
Cassie opened the door to the compound. Inside it was completely black.
Cassie held the stone of fire up in her hand and the light it gave off shone over the darkened staircase. They crept down the staircase. A smashing sound could be heard coming from below them.
Cassie cautioned. "Now everybody be careful there might be a terrible beast in here."
They turned a corner to see huge cavernous rooms carved out of the thick layer of salt. Inside, banked on all sides and underneath by the salt, were large pools. Cassie held the stone over one of the pools. Swimming inside were large odd fish like creatures. Growing out of the salt of the pool were giant plants that the fish like creatures fed upon. "Hmm, think they get enough salt in their diet?"
"That's about the only thing that's going to get assaulted. This place is dead there's obviously nothing in here." Kon leaned over the edge of the pool.
Echo approached the brown muddy ball atop a platform in the middle of the pool. She reached out to touch the brown muddy mass. "This sort of magic, this I know." She reached out to it with her hands. Slowly deliberately the ball wound itself to her.
Kon looked around the dark and silent cavern. He waved his hand in the empty air. "I don't see any terrible beast, looks like somebody's been crying wolf."
The light shone on a huge wolf, which gazed at them, its teeth bared, its body coiled, poised and ready to strike. El Evan sent an arrow its maw. It smashed it away effortlessly. The wolf went to pounce on Kon, Cassie jumped the long distance toward him grabbing him and pulling him out of the way.
El Evan sent another two arrows toward it, which it again defected away.
Alex crept away from the giant wolf looking for something in the room that could be an advantage against such an enormous beast. He spotted on the wall a set of keys. He picked them off the wall, as he did so he noticed a set of DeOrrifisser hands protruding from a hidden cell. He approached the cell seeing many DeOrrifisser behind bars.
Aleks hurriedly unlocked the gate. "Hi my name is Aleks. I'm here to rescue you."
An older DeOrrifisser looked to a young beautiful DeOrrifisser female, which looked very similar to the DeWorfer female. "Look Princess Laeyaa. He's here to rescue us."
The wolf attacked both Cass and Kon.
Cass held the red stone in her hand as she used her arms to protect her face instinctively. The wolf blew a tremendous cloud of air at her. She and Kon were flattened to the ground. A tiny spark of flame flew from the stone in her hand into the maw of the wolf as it inhaled deadly. Its lungs stretched outwards. In the next instant it was blown apart from the inside as the compressed air inside its lungs ignited.
Cassie limply rolled off Kon whom she had been pressed into. A sparkling clear stone fell from the air, among the bits of exploded wolf parts. It landed flatly on Kon's chest.
Cassie gasped for air as she tried to push herself to her feet. "Oh Geez, Kon are you ok?"
Cassie looked up from where she was over at Kon. "What's that's piece of glass?" She pointed out the clear rock.
El Evan answered. "It is the clear stone of air."
"You got a stone too."
Kon looked up half dazed. "Now I do not feel so all alone, everybody must get stoned."
Slobo and Anita paddled their boat to a set of mountains on the horizon.
"Well it's nice to have a change of scenery." Anita smiled at the mountains ahead.
"I dunno I kinda like it up in the aqueduct. Peace, quite, everything far below you. Out of harms way." They approached the end of the aqueduct
Anita from her position in the rear paddled the boat as to turn it on its side.
"Hey what are you doing?" Slobo yelled.
Anita completed the maneuver and the boat entered, in reverse, the narrow opening before the aqueducts end. Two P'Orhks stood on either side of the narrow entrance lazily standing guard. Anita drew booth of her swords and ran them through both of them as the boat passed through the opening. She swirled around and cut down another two within her reach on the left bank before they knew what was happening. The remaining two on the other bank grabbed for their weapons.
Slobo shouted out. "These are mine babe."
Anita leaped to the other embankment. She sliced off the arm of the P'Orhk who had grabbed his halberd. She threw her other blade at the P'Orhk who was bent over reaching for his weapon. It rotated through the air piercing him cleanly through the back. He slumped over.
"I said they were mine." Slobo shouted from inside the boat. He stared at the P'Orhk as it groped at its lost arm.
Anita swung around and cleanly sliced though the one armed P'Orhk.
"You. You don't kill anything unless you have to." She reached down and pulled the blade from the back of the dead P'Orhk.
She walked up to Slobo and stared at him very plainly. "Is that understood?" She sheathed her swords.
The group sat assembled, outside the pools with the DeOrrifissers whom they had rescued.
Cass looked at them. "About 50 people. Not a great number, but quite a few to sneak past enemy lines with. Too bad we don't have enough armor for all of us. We could all pretend to be P'Orhks."
Princess Laeyaa furled her eyebrows. "But King Aleks has the master keys. They open the armory."
"They just left the keys lying around unprotected?" Kon asked.
Laeyaa smirked at him. "And what do you suppose it was that gave you that stone."
"None of the P'Orhks would venture in these caverns while the great air wolf, roamed the halls." Laeyaa stood triumphantly. "So it is true, the 8 heroes. Come let us arm ourselves, for I have renewed faith in our ultimate victory."
Robin focused intensely on the stone. He contorted his face with effort. "This is stupid Secret. I don't even know why I bother trying. It's impossible."
"You're not letting it be possible. You're too grounded. You're capable of tapping into the magical energy, but it's like you won't let yourself."
"Maybe you're wrong about me. You were wrong about Bart."
"I wasn't wrong. It's the stone that's magic not him. You have the capacity for magic without a stone."
"I obviously don't have capacity for magic with this stone." He pointed at the stone he had been trying to levitate.
Robin frowned. "I dunno everything about this place seems so unreal."
Secret stared down at her hands, which seamed relatively solid even next to Robins. "Everything here seems so real to me here. I feel real."
"You're different that's for sure."
"It's because of this." Secret held up the ring on her finger. "It belonged to her. She died here."
Robin looked at her as though expecting to hear more.
Secret turned to face him again when she spoke her voice seemed more mature and she seemed somehow more regal.
After the departure of the wizard, the long stressed alliance that had been forged amongst the peoples of the lands was sundered, and great wars now broke out between the kingdoms of men. The green stone came into the keeping of a noble El Fvis woman. She left the forests to go among the lands of men, healing men in each opposing army to urge them to lay down their arms. After many years she fell into despair as there seemed to be no end to the bloodshed and her efforts looked to be as useful as giving a band aid to a heart attack victim. Soul weary she took a retreat back to her homeland the El Eeg forest near the plains of El Helm Arraad. One night she was awakened by bad dreams and ventured onto the plain for a walk. With her keen eyesight she spotted a group of men. They wore light armor, dressed all in black, and crouched as if not to be seen approaching the forest. Quietly she approached them, and with her keen hearing could make out their whispers.
"You sure she's here and unprotected, she's usually surrounded by huge armies, quite well loved by the soldiers who would do anything to protect her."
"She's here all right, and that beautiful green stone, do you know how much that stone is worth? Just kill her quickly and grab it, then we'll get out of here before we run into any El Fvis."
He stopped dead in his tracks, before him stood the El Fvis woman. Radiance poured from her.
Out of reflex and without any forethought, one of the murdering thieves had drawn his dagger and before she knew what was happening he trust it into her breast with the practiced ease of one who murders for a living.
The years of constant struggle to contain the blood flow of the wars of men had worn her strength and compassion, and her anger flooded through her as she saw before her the very symbol of what she struggled against for so long, the greed and lust for power mixed with the viciousness of man.
Though mortally wounded, she let her hate overwhelm her, and she killed all of them with but a touch.
And powers of destruction she had released consumed her, for with them she destroyed the ring, and with it and chance of saving or savaging her life.
Secret turned away from Robin and looked into the forest. "She didn't mean for those people to die. She's sorry."
Secret slumped to her knees. He head fell forward. "I didn't want to kill all those people."
Robin approached her from behind and placed his hands on her shoulders.
"I'm sorry. I'm so, sorry Robin."
.
The large group wearing purple tinted P'Orhkish armor camped on a rocky hill overlooking the valley.
El Evan sat away from the group gazing at Echo as she talked to a group around her. He looked over to Aleks who was chatting amenably with Laeyaa. He sighed deeply.
Kon shook his head at Cassie in disbelief. "I knew that being around Bart so much would eventually get to you. That plan is totally loco."
"We got away with it before."
"You want us to march to the front along with the P'Orhks. What are you planning to do Cassie? Try talking them out of being creatures of monstrous evil and go strait upstanding citizens?"
"No spy on them. Learn their plans ands stuff."
Kon raised the stone in his hand. "But with these stones we have a lot of power now. I say we-"
Cassie cut him off. "Forget it Kon it's too risky besides you haven't figured out how to work that thing yet. So basically you're still powerless."
Kon peered angrily at her. "You really like rubbing that in don't you?"
El Evan stared at Echo enchanted.
A pair of hands flashed before his face. "Hello."
Aleks stood in front of him. "I see something's got your interest."
"Such a strange girl. It is as if I do not interest her."
"What do you mean?"
"Well look at me. I am both tall and handsome."
"Don't forget modest."
"All women find me attractive. But this one does not."
"Well why don't you talk to her."
"And what would I say? I am unlike the other El Fvis folk, they are joyful and carfare, I am… reserved some would even say a little bit stuffy."
"You don't say?"
"So what do I say to this girl when I approach her?"
"I do not know. Tell her she looks nice. It's a start."
El Evan hesitatingly came up to Echo who was dressed head to toe in P'Orhkish armor.
"You… um… you look really nice."
"You like to see me clad in armor and brandishing weapons of destruction?"
"No of course not. I think it's hideous, a terrible sight."
"You think I'm hideous."
"No, yes, but… excuse me I think I hear my mother calling me." He blushed and walked away from Echo.
A large group was working around Bart.
Bart nudged Toelkeen so that when he stood one of his slates fell from his arms.
Bart reached out to catch it. But it slipped out of his fingers and into El Dalee's art supplies. They landed all together in a pile.
"Uh whoops, don't worry we'll get this comic done." He looked at them confidently. "We will publish this comic."
"Oh uh." He looked at them nervously. "Oh man I just remembered there's no publishers nowadays. How in the world are we going to produce the comic?"
Impulse reached down to pick up the art supplies he had spilled. When he lifted the paper off he noticed that the slate that had been smeared with paint had made a mirror impression against the piece of paper.
He looked up inspired. "Hey that's a great idea!"
Impulse turned to Toelkeen and El Dalee "Do you guys know any really good slate carvers?"
"My uncle is a renowned slate carver." Toelkeen announced.
"Get him I've got wise plan."
The gang looked at the DeOrrifissers they had rescued dressed in purple tinted P'Orhkish armor.
Kon looked on skeptically. "Ok if we're sneaky and real quite and don't draw any attention to ourselves we might be able to pull off this infiltration."
Cass stared down where part of the P'Orhk army had camped for the night. "I dunno Kon I think maybe Dioby had a point with his, - walk in like you own the joint- spiel."
She stared astonished at the corpse of a DeOrrifisser being eaten by a P'Orhk. "My god!"
Laeyaa looked down at the horrid sight. "There are many DeOrrifisser slaves used outside the compound to help with the transport of goods to the front."
Cassie stood up determined. "Well, we'll see about this. Get ready to move out behind me."
Kon stared at her incredulously. "Cass, are you nuts?"
Cass marched into the P'Orhk encampment. The others slowly followed her.
Cassie shouted at the P'Orhk gnawing at the corpse of the dead DeOrrifisser. "Knave you will stop this at once."
Cass turned to the ranked P'Orhk in charge. "Have I you to blame?"
The P'Orhk walked toward her and removed his full-faced helm. "I am glad he ate her."
She turned her back slightly then whipped out her short blade and cleanly sliced the P'Orhks head off.
"I am Cassius Sandmarcus, coronal to the P'Toree Ann legions." She placed her foot on top of the body of the dead P'Orhk.
"By order of the general all DeOrrifisser slaves are to be turned over to us at once."
Kon marched up through the Crowd of purple armor clad DeOrrifissers.
Cass saluted him. "General sir."
"Why…" The P'Orhk looked over at Cassie standing over the body of the headless P'Orhk. The P'Orhk marched up to the general and respectfully bowed his head. "All DeOrrifisser slaves will be handed over as the general wishes, and for whatever purpose the general wishes."
Kon stared at the mutilated DeOrrifisser arm that had been gnawed at. He smiled slyly at the P'Orhk. "We wish to eat them ourselves."
At this the P'Orhks expression brightened. "Yes sir. At once general sir."
Robin looked on at the two he had seen bicker at the banquet table. They laughed and joked with one another. Robin approached them
The DeWorfer looked up at the El Fvis. "That's true. There are a lot of parallels."
Robin greeted them. "Uh hi guys, good to see you getting along so well."
"Yes I was just telling El Grekoe here that it's amazing how similar our religious scriptures are."
"Huh? What brought all this about?"
"It's your friend the wise Aeker. He has released the scriptures to the masses." He held up a small pamphlet sized book. He pointed to Bart who was nearby at a table busy with a group of El Fvis and DeWorfers. Various sheets of paper lay scattered about the table.
As Robin approached he saw that Bart was pressing the mirrored image of the carved slates smeared with ink against a sheet of paper. On each page was a comic strip, these were being assembled together and handed out.
"Hey wise Bart Guttenberg."
"Hey Robin. Have you heard the good word?" Bart handed Robin a pamphlet-sized comic book.
Robin opened and read the comic story.
The Story of the Creation of the Peoples.
A long time ago, before there were any races on the face of the world, the great creator god looked around and wondered what else he should create but he was stumped and could not make up his mind. The creator god went to the trees in the forest and he asked them, "Whom should I create?"
And the forest replied. "Someone who loves the woods and streams and the wild areas of the world."
And so the great creator scattered seeds on the ground. And from these seeds grew the El Fvis people.
Then the creator god turned to the stones and mountains. "Whom should I create?"
And the stone answered. "Somebody hardy and weathered, and able to withstand the sea. Someone who loves me for all my treasure."
And so the great creator god chiseled from the stone both the DeWorfers and the DeOrrifissers.
Robin closed the comic book. "Hey wise Aeker, this wasn't such a bad idea. But do you know what this will do to their culture having their first mass produced work, be a comic book. Everything after it is likely to follow the same model."
"You mean," Impulse held up the pamphlet hopefully. "This comic might be worth a lot some day?"
End of Part 6
"The Lord of the Stones" m