Raven: True, what Clez said. By the way, neither of us don't own LOTR, though we've had a lot of help from all three movies. The kids, Terragan, Laire and the rest of 'em belong to us, but LXG characters don't. Sad, innit?
Vaudevillian: Have all the brownie points we can find! *digs out brownie points and showers Vaudevillian with them* What a lovely, honest and helpful review you left for us! The biggest we have ever seen! Oh, the grins on our face! Ear to ear! Thank you kindly! *Raven stops Clez from throwing the said brownie points* Clez, don't you dare do that! If you give 'em all away, how are we gonna give Vaudevillian any more?
CHAPTER 6
The journey to the magickal dimension didn't take as long as Skinner seemed to remember it taking before when they had originally travelled the route, and this puzzled him. His 'son' sensed this confusion, and turned his cobalt eyes upon him with a crooked smile, saying only, "Magick."
The eight of them crossed into the realm of the magicks, feeling the intense power and change wash over them, though Laire was unaffected, and he started off across the vast hillside at once. The others followed him after taking a moment, Dorian scowling as he felt something deep within him shift only a fraction… a dangerous fraction nonetheless. He needed to be careful in this place. Death was quite possible for him here.
Mina stayed beside him, and followed behind the others as Laire led them to the apex of the hill. The League stopped all around him, and exchanged glances. Tom Sawyer frowned, his Winchester settled on one shoulder.
"Is it colder than before?" he asked, furrowing his brow.
Laire closed his eyes and sighed. "It gets colder and darker now… it is the evil magicks of the Dark Lord. They are spreading."
Skinner frowned. All of this sounded like something out of a fairy tale book of a child… but he had seen enough of this myth and magick in reality to know it to be anything other than make-believe. "What are we waiting for?"
Laire locked gazes with his father, and then glanced around. "Our transportation."
Jekyll opened his mouth to inquire from his place beside Nemo, before piercing whinnies carried over the light breeze to them, and the soft thundering of hooves drew their attention to the west, where a small herd of horses was approaching swiftly and with unbelievable grace.
Mina smiled. She remembered the previous journey on horseback, where they had jumped the canyon… the horses had made it seem so effortless. She would have been able to fly the distance with ease, but the animals had helped without being asked, so it would have been rude to decline.
Now they came up before the League, as beautiful and enchanting as ever, and the largest of the group padded on hoofed feet over to Laire, pressing its pink muzzle and dappled head lightly against the young man's chest in greeting. Laire embraced the animal's head with his hands, and leaned his forehead against that of the horse, whispering to it in something Skinner recognised as Elven. He smiled; realising Laire was thanking the horse, and telling it where they were to be carried. Some words he missed… but he decrypted the majority.
The horses paced to the League members, seemingly choosing them for size and weight, and for a moment, the seven eyed one another and then their intended charges. As a unit, they mounted, and turned to Laire, who led them north over the hills at a swift gallop. The horses kept the pace easily, showing no signs of exhaustion at any point of their journey, their silken manes glistening in the light, their muscular limbs pumping as they sped along on their way, League on their backs. They ranged from white to roan in shade, and each one was as gorgeous as the next, powerful and graceful.
It was dark when they reached their destination, Laire thanking the dappled stallion once again before dismissing them with a half-bow. At that, the grey horse turned and was on his way, taking his fellows with him without a sound of disapproval. Before long, they were gone from sight, and Mina looked on after them longingly, before taking in her surroundings.
It was a city… all secluded within high walls and towers, with scouts and sentries on patrol on the parapets overhead. They looked to be men, but the vampire could not be certain as they crossed through the gate into the courtyard, where three individuals of different race greeted them.
"Laire," one said simply, a tall and handsome Elf with curled black hair reaching to his bottom jaw, and soulful brown eyes, "I see you brought our aid."
Laire nodded, and turned to make introductions, "May I present the 'League of Extraordinary Gentlemen': Allan Quatermain, Captain Nemo, Doctor Henry Jekyll, Dorian Gray, Wilhelmina Gray, Rodney Skinner and Tom Sawyer."
The Elf bowed his head in acknowledgement, and strode towards them. Tom took in the sight of his elegant mithril armour, gleaming in the torchlight all around, a beautiful pendant hanging from a chain around his neck over his breastplate. "I am Eiselbahr, one of three commanders of the Elves. Thank you for coming."
"It's not like we had a choice," Skinner muttered under his breath, noting how Mina arched an eyebrow, and the aforementioned Eiselbahr regarded him curiously. Whoops… I think he heard that.
The second individual was also male, and as he approached, there was a rustling, and broad feathered wings spread from his back. He rolled his lean shoulders and sighed lightly, as if he had kept them back for too long, and it had strained them. He flexed the wings, and looked to them each in turn with the most enchanting violet eyes. He blinked slowly, and cocked his head, his short and wild mahogany hair only serving to intensify the streaks and highlights in his wings. They were grey for the most part; black veins of feather running through them, and on the very edges were strong lines of vivid red. So similar to Vicky's, before they had been amputated, but so powerfully different. He cleared his throat quietly, and spoke, "My name is Piero. You have seen my kind before… I am an Aseyewrn, and knew Victoria's father." He glanced around the group. "Is she not with you?"
Skinner shook his head. "No. I wouldn't let her come. She doesn't have her wings anymore, and she…" He trailed off, realising this man – Aseyewrn did not need to know the particulars. "She's not here."
Piero, as he had introduced himself, inclined his head slightly with a widening of the eyes. "You are joined in marriage." It wasn't a question.
"Yes," Skinner responded, just as simply. No use trying to hide it from them, he thought. Besides, Laire already knows.
"My blessings," Piero said blandly. And then they saw it as a torch nearby flared up, being lighted for the night. The man looked in his late thirties, but on closer inspection, his face was not so peaceful. He had seen battle before, and the evidence of such ran painfully visible down the left side of his face. A scar ran from his forehead down to the middle of a cheek. Now that Allan looked carefully, the left eye was constantly more lidded than the right.
Piero seemed to notice their inspection of his face, and turned away to allow the third figure to make their introduction. The last was a female, crouched down in a very familiar way, almost predatorily. When her head rose, and the eyes were visible through the locks of blonde, the eyes flashing yellow in the light. She smiled wanly.
"I can see the recognition in your faces. I am Aclida," she revealed, and stood up a little straighter, her agility making Jekyll's eyes widen. The way she moved was so feline, it was astounding. As she walked to them, she made no sound on the stone floor, and she regarded them cautiously but oddly warmly with her strange eyes. "My name is Xanthe. Welcome to our last stronghold…" She waved an arm to the city around her. "Terragan, city of hope."
Tom let out a low whistle as he took in the sight around him, exhaling in awed appreciation of just how much work had been put into the construction of this place. The buildings looked ancient, and full of detail, some with arcane writing around the archways lined with plant life so exotic he cocked his head as he tried to identify it. The peoples who milled about were of all races and genders, most brandishing armour and weapons alike… and they all looked skilled in their use. Elves, Aclida, Affati, Aseyewrn and many more watched the strangers with intrigued curiousity. There was the cry of a bird that carried like a silvery peal on the breeze, and Tom's green eyes rose as he watched a great flying animal come in to land on Eiselbahr's outstretched arm. The eagle – as Tom recognised it, along with the others – chattered cryptically to the Elf, who nodded, and sent the bird away again with a muttering of thanks.
"Our enemy is massing in the south," Eiselbahr announced to the small company. Piero's wings arched, and fluttered slowly, as if he were itching to take flight and investigate.
"It seems to me that a reconnaissance is called for," Allan commented, eyeing his fellow League members, and new acquaintances alike. Though he was old, he still had his passion and determination, and Laire admired that in the man. Skinner's estranged son nodded only once.
"You are correct, Mr. Quatermain." Laire looked to his fellow magickal companions. "We shall leave in the dawn. They are sluggish in the daylight… though not weak. It will take us many hours to make the journey to his stronghold and scout his resources."
"Agreed," Eiselbahr murmured, and bowed his head to the League once more before turning on his heel and moving off gracefully, Piero and Xanthe not far behind. "We will get the supplies." Laire nodded his thanks.
"They are the leaders of their troops?" Allan asked as the group closed in around Laire to speak quietly.
"That is one way of putting it." Laire tilted his head thoughtfully. "Eiselbahr, as you heard, is one of three Elven commanders in Terragan. He has much respect from his kind, and they look to him as a leader figure. Piero is… he does not lead, but he represents the fire of the Aseyewrn. He has seen many battles, and his determination leads me to think this will not be his last." Laire smiled pensively at that description, before drawing to a conclusion, "And Xanthe… the Aclida have no real leaders. They are true fighters, and she is a strong warrior, one of the most fervent I have ever met, even amongst her kind." He paused, smiling. "And that is saying something."
Skinner smiled at his son's colourful words, before feeling the light strain in his muscles from being on the move for so many hours. Looking around told him that the hour was late. His thoughts strayed to his family back in his dimension, in London… and he prayed they would be safe. He was concerned another party of orcs may attack his house… Vicky was a powerful fighter, but she couldn't hold off an entire horde of them alone. She'll be fine.
"Come," Laire said to them wearily, "it grows late, and we will need much rest before tomorrow. It will be a long day, no doubt. I will show you to your lodgings."
And so he led them through Terragan, where they were acknowledged as equals by all around… something that made Skinner's heart ache with unfounded pride.
Night had fallen upon London a few hours before, and now the Skinner household was asleep, with the exception of one woman.
Vicky lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to pretend that her husband was asleep, beside her. It was working, and she gave a small sigh, resigned to the fact that he was there and she was here.
A melancholy air had befallen the people in the house since the League and Laire left for the other dimension, better known as Idril Telemnar to those better versed in magicks. It's death, Vicky thought. War always brings death.
The former-Aseyewrn gave a deep sigh, concentrating on the patterns the moonlight made on the walls and ceiling of the room. She closed her eyes, willing sleep to come, but it eluded her, like a dream that couldn't be caught. She lay there, and didn't hear the door open. She did, however, feel the wriggling of her son into her bed. She opened her eyes and saw the dark shape that was him.
She lifted the covers slightly, making it easier for him to crawl into the big, warm bed and snuggle up to her. There was something soft between the two, and Vicky knew that her son had brought his toy bee with him.
"Mama," James mumbled softly, curling up close to his mother. Vicky held her child close, feeling his chest rise and fall as his breathing evened out and became shallow. She knew he was asleep, and hid a smile; this was his favourite way to get attention. She shifted until she rested on her side, and stroked her sleeping child's hair. He shifted a little, and she paused, but then continued, thinking.
James had his mother's hair, but his father's eyes; where his grin came from, they weren't sure. Vicky knew that Lizzy and James would be all she had left, should her husband not make it back. She banished such thoughts from her mind.
Of course he'll make it back, she thought. He has to.
It was very early in the morning when the League were roused from dreamless sleep, and were ushered into a small hall where the three individuals from the previous evening were collected and waiting for them. Eiselbahr was still dressed in his ornate and fine armour, Piero standing beside him with his wings arched casually. Xanthe was crouched low to the ground, working at fixing a dagger into her belt securely.
"I trust you slept well," Eiselbahr greeted them smoothly, taking a bow and collection of arrows from the table, and slinging the quiver over his back and chest and tightening it. He kept the fine bow in his hand, and Nemo raised a brow at its appearance. He recognised it… it resembled Crow McGuire's… in fact, if he didn't know any better, he would have thought it the same one.
Piero smiled grimly, his left eye slightly more closed than the right, as it had been the day before.
"It was a restless sleep," Mina breathed, and yearned to take Dorian's hand. She had an oddly foreboding feeling settling in the pit of her stomach that she could not explain.
Eiselbahr turned his head to Laire, and raised his brow, an inquiring gesture. The young man nodded his head and said, "It is already done."
"Very well," the Elf began, shifting his burden slightly so that it settled more comfortably, "we shall leave at once, if you are all prepared accordingly?" He eyed the League.
Allan and Tom carried their rifles, the American also weighed down comfortingly by his pistols at his sides. The adventurer also carried his bowie knife in his belt, and his Webley on his left hip. The vampire needed no weapons as such, but felt more at ease by the presence of twin daggers hidden in her long coat. Dorian, beside her, gripped his cane sword firmly, his face set grimly at the prospect of possible injury in this realm. Nemo – as ever – carried his ornamental sword and scabbard at his hip. Jekyll was turning a vial of elixir round and round in his shaking hands… he was nervous. Skinner stood, looking from side to side, before Piero noticed him, and smiled.
The Aseyewrn took something from the table where Eiselbahr had retrieved his weaponry, and walked over to Skinner, offering it to him gently. "Here," he said, "take this."
Skinner looked down at the weapon, and felt his jaw drop slightly. It was a sword, and a beautiful one at that. Its blade was shining in the light, etched with arcane symbols, the same style of which also adorned the wide hilt. He tentatively reached out, and let Piero place it in his grasp, letting out a breath when he felt the weight of it… not too heavy and not too light. It was perfect. "I'm not sure I know how to use this…"
"Of course you do," Piero countered quietly, and accepted the daggers Xanthe passed to him as she walked towards the door, where Laire was motioning for them to follow.
The League turned, Skinner bringing up the rear, still admiring the weapon. They walked to the doors, and Laire and Eiselbahr walked out first into the courtyard, where Dorian looked up from his cane at the sound of hooves on cobbled stone.
The horses from the previous day waited for them, tacked and waiting, some with differing harnesses. As the League separated, breaking from one another and standing at a wide distance, the horses starting forward, individually reclaiming the member who had ridden them the day before.
The dappled grey greeted Laire in the same manner, and he spoke its name, "Malhandir… diola lle." The stallion snorted in response, and nuzzled the young man's face. He petted its muzzle, and then swung onto its back.
Eiselbahr was next to mount, a pure white and lithe horse with no saddle or bridle, but he climbed onto its back with ease and steered with his knees and gentle words. The horse responded without hesitation, bobbing its lean head, its forelock bouncing around its light eyes.
Two large horses paced to Allan and Tom, both with long holsters down the sides of their saddles. The one on the left was a wall-eyed black, and it gave a low purring of a noise, looking Tom right in the face with an almost mischievous air about it. It tossed its head with a gentle whinny, and the American smiled. The animal on the right was a large chestnut, with a large blaze running down its face. It turned on its side as a kind of invitation to Allan, and the hunter wasted no time in accepting. Tom wasn't far behind, climbing onto the mischievous horse's back moments after.
The next to mount were Dorian and Mina, the former on a proud dun, the latter riding atop a beautiful blue roan that pranced as it strode. Jekyll turned down the use of a horse, slinking off into a private shadow to drink his elixir. Xanthe watched him with mild interest, in her predatory crouch again, standing beside the tall Piero, whose wings spread wide and flapped once.
A regal bay approached Nemo, and the Indian hesitated for only a moment, knowing he would be much more comfortable back on his Nautilus, but knowing this was essential. The last to mount a horse was Skinner, who was 'claimed' by a gentle animal with flaxen mane and tale, and a coat that shone mahogany under the sun.
Eiselbahr and Laire led them at a walk through the courtyard, the League atop their charges quite comfortably, Skinner having located the scabbard on the side of his saddle and finding it to be a perfect fit to the blade Piero had given him. The Aseyewrn threw him a knowing glance, before lifting from the ground, his wings spread wide in flight. Edward Hyde stepped from his place of transformation. Xanthe looked up at the monstrous alter ego with a grin, and paced with him out after the others.
When they had passed the central courtyard, Eiselbahr and Laire broke into a trot and finally a slow gallop out of the gates, rocketing off at full speed when outside Terragan. The League followed with ease on their horses, the small collection followed by a charging Hyde and swift Xanthe on foot. Overhead, Piero scouted in the distance, his wings flapping slowly to keep him aloft.
From his place at the front of the swift moving procession, Laire Di'Markiir was letting his thoughts wander as he gripped the reins of his mount, Malhandir, the stallion's limbs pumping in a gallop as they charged over the vast open plains and fields of Idril Telemnar. Though his thoughts ran free, his eyes never wavered from leading the League along with Eiselbahr the Elven commander, Xanthe and Hyde bringing up the rear, Piero flying overhead as a kind of lookout. They were a nice compact and secure travelling group, and of course, should trouble come out of nowhere, the horses would provide a quick exit.
He still does not believe whom I am, he thought from atop the dappled horse, and closed his eyes for a moment as they charged past a small woodland crop. A bird flew overhead, dodging Piero, and Laire opened his cyan eyes to the path ahead once again. The fortress was not even in sight yet. They had a long way to go. He does not see me as his son… despite my claims. Why will he not believe me?
Laire risked a glance over his shoulder, being an expert rider, and saw his father near the end of the group, atop the flaxen-haired horse, the sword Piero had given him fixed in the scabbard. Little did he know the power of the blade he carried… Laire wondered if he would ever find out about it.
Shifting his thoughts along, he turned his head back after smiling politely to Mrs. Gray, where she rode alongside her wary husband. How could Rodney Skinner know? Piero could not have known… could he? How would he know that my father has the potential to wield such a powerful weapon?
Malhandir tossed his head, perhaps catching a foul scent on the wind, and Laire glanced to Eiselbahr, who narrowed his eyes and peered into the distance, before glancing skyward. Piero showed no signs of distress, so they pressed on warily. The Dark Lord cannot know of our approach… even his magic is not powerful enough. Unless his skills have increased… again. Are we really going to be strong enough?
Reminding himself not to be so negative, despite the circumstances, Laire turned Malhandir to the apex of a hill, where the stallion led the other horses in a tight group over the mound and down the other side without trouble.
Tom and Allan rode close behind the Elf and Laire, as if frightened to be left behind, or just eager for the taste of action again, their rifles strapped beside them firmly at close reach. Laire glanced to then for a moment, seeing the determination in their eyes, and he wondered if they realised how alike they really were, despite the glaring differences.
His eyes rested next upon Dorian Gray, the immortal whose abilities were lessened here… his healing slowed drastically, and dangerously so. It was etched on his handsome face that he was concerned, though he was trying to hide this fact from his wife, and the rest of the League… not to mention the natural inhabitants of this realm. But Laire could read it clearly, and he sympathised. Dorian's natural strength had been lessened, and now his caution would have to be doubled. Mina Gray herself wore a veiled expression of misplaced anger… did she feel as though she had been dealt an injustice in being here?
She worries for her daughter, Laire realised, and understood fully the familiar expressions he saw on all the faces of the League. Perhaps they should not have come. They have much to lose in risking their lives here for us… for people they do not even know. Laire turned his head back to his path, just as Malhandir leapt over a fallen log from the woodland nearby, Eiselbahr leading the rest over it in following the young man. But it shows their compassion and loyalty to a world they helped only once before, and that was spurred by the abductions of their children.
Laire smiled then, albeit grimly. It would appear we made the right choice in going to the League for help…
