I don't own anything. I just like to write

Into Battle

There was another split in the path. Leoric again chose the right hand path. It was thinner and darker, the other path was wide and bright, open and inviting.

"We must be going the right way." Arzon muttered. "Somebody really wants us to pick the other path."

"Is somebody changing the path? Or has it always been like this?" Galadria wondered.

"Maybe both." Witterquick shrugged.

They came out through the trees to another split. Again they went right. Leoric stared down the path, this one seemed to go on for miles. It was a open path for miles and miles in a straight line. He sighed and kept walking.

There was a moment of uncertainty as his feet tried to tell his brain something different to his eyes. And then his eyes caught up with him. He was on a different landscape, silver sand scuffed and blew against his boots. Silver sand that was the only feature for as far as the eye could see in any direction. There was no noise, just the silent sound of the desert, so vast that it sucked in sound.

"Leoric!" Witterquick burst through behind him, closely followed by Arzon and Galadria.

"Are you alright, Leoric?" Galadria asked.

"Yes, I'm fine."

"Where are we?" Arzon asked.

"The Centre Of The Maze." A voice echoed around them. The sand in front off them started to shift and then a pillar rose upwards. It was followed by another and another until the area was covered in pillars each displaying a different item.

"Take What You Have Come For. No More. No Less." The voice boomed again.

The Knights glanced around at the items, over half of them were gems of some description.

"How do we know that we've got the right one?" Witterquick asked.

"We seek the Twisted root gem." Leoric said, raising his voice to be heard.

The ground trembled slightly and one pillar rose higher than the rest. Leoric approached the pillar, that was now at shoulder height.

"I guess this is the one." He plucked it off the pillar and waited. Nothing happened. Everything stayed as it was. He turned and walked back the way he had come.

"Nothing more, nothing less." He whispered to himself. There was the feeling of uncertainty again, then he found himself back in the maze, surrounded by trees. The other three appeared next to him.

"Now all we have to do is find our way out." Arzon murmured.

"A different way to the way that we came in." Galadria added.

Leoric looked back at the way they had come to get here, then to Witterquick who already seemed to have solved the puzzle.

"We just go left." He exclaimed. "Leoric's staff told us to go right on the way in. Going back another way just mean we reverse it. So we take the left path."

The Knights set off, going left every time they were offered a path.

"Witterquick, use your staff to locate Ectar and the others. Tell them the key to getting out of the maze. We'll meet you at the Capture Chariot."

"Yes, Leoric." Witterquick nodded, planted his feet firmly and chanted. "Sheath these feet in a driving gale, make swift my legs, overland I sail."

The winged spirit wound itself around him then soured away over the trees.

"Leaving us to take the long route back." Arzon grumbled with a grin.

O

Feryl pointed out the dot on the horizon as it got closer and closer.

"It's Witterquick." Chase called out, waving wildly.

Witterquick landed and the spirit unwound and vanished.

"Leoric and the others? Do they need help?" Ectar asked hurriedly.

"No, they're fine." Witterquick assured him. "We've found the Twisted root gem and they are heading back to the vehicles."

The Knights relaxed as Witterquick filled them in on what had happened. "Leoric sent me to let you know, and to tell you how to get out of here." He shrugged. "You just have to take the left path."

"Well lets go." Cryotek said heading back the way they had come.

"Will we have to pass those things?" Feryl asked.

"Wasn't there a fork just after them?" Chase asked. "I'm sure I remember one. If we go left there, then that will take us down a different path."

"What things?" Witterquick asked. Chase and Feryl filled him in while Ectar and Cryotek led the way.

O

Leoric spotted the Capture Chariot through the trees, they were almost out. He for one had had quite enough of trees. He couldn't wait for a road that didn't try to loose you every other step.

He crossed the ridge and looked down at where the vehicles were. Something didn't feel right. Some six sense was trying to warn him, something just felt wrong. His suspicions were confirmed when a boulder crashed into the rockface next to him.

"Leoric, look out!" Galadria cried.

"Darkling Lords!" Arzon shouted.

The Dagger Assault Vehicle came into full view as another boulder soared towards them. The Knights threw themselves to the ground as it sailed past them. Darkstorm was shouting orders to the other Darkling Lords.

"Cravex, Lexor, Cindarr. Get up there. I want that jewel."

"Here, help me." Leoric told the other two as he started pushing at the rocks at the lip of the ridge. They tumbled down the cliff scattering the Darkling Lords as they started their climb.

"Darkstorm, maybe it would be better to climb up another way." Lexor suggested pleadingly, picking himself up.

"Stop your snivelling and get up there!" Darkstorm yelled aiming a kick at where Lexor had been.

"I'll settle this." Cravex declared, changing into his phylot totem. His powerful wings carried him up towards the Spectral Knights.

"We can't let him see that it's just the three of us." Galadria hissed.

Arzon nodded. "I'll try and distract him." He transformed into his eagle and rose up to meet the phylot. The large beast swiped at him with his wing, Arzon dodged and rose for another attack.

Cravex screamed at him and snapped at the smaller bird. Arzon just managed to out manoeuvre him in time, then came back attacking again.

"Arzon will get himself killed." Leoric muttered.

"Not if I can help it." Galadria said hefting a rock. She took aim and hit Cravex a glancing blow that called his attention away from Arzon. Leoric joined her and the two of them pelted Cravex with stones, he screamed at them then swooped down to land.

Darkstorm was raging again. His furious cries spurred the Darkling Lords into action and they once again started scaling the cliff. Cravex was in the lead screaming about death and destruction. Only Reekon stayed with Darkstorm to power the Dagger Assault. Lexor hung to the back, clearly not wanting to enter the fray. Mortdred followed climbed with gusto. "I will get that which you desire oh Master Darkstorm." He called out.

"Doesn't he ever stop boot licking?" Galadria asked.

"Not even when he sleeps." Arzon replied drawing a wry smile from the other two.

Cravex reached the top of the ridge and threw himself into battle with a cry of vengeance. The Spectral Knights rose to the challenge as Cindarr also reach the top.

"But there are only three of them." Virulina called out incredulously.

Lexor leapt into battle as he heard this. "And they shall face me."

"Three?" Darkstorm called up.

"Then where are the others?" Reekon murmured. "They will not be far."

The three Knights were soon over powered and Mortdred stepped forward to claim the Twisted root gem off Leoric.

"I have it Master Darkstorm." He held it aloft, waving it at Darkstorm.

A boomerang sent it spinning from his grasp.

"You had it." Witterquick corrected him.

A blue puma leapt into the air, caught the gem in it's mouth, twisted and landed neatly. Chase transformed, and rolled as the Darkling Lords struck at where she had been.

"Feryl." She hurled the gem into the air where a blue wolf snatched it up and dashed away.

"Get him!" Darkstorm yelled.

"Spectral Knights!" Leoric commanded and the Knights joined the battle.

Cravex was already chasing after Feryl, his phylot being the fastest of the Darkling Lords totem animals. Witterquick and Arzon were in hot pursuit, Witterquick in the hoverchair from the Chapture Chariot.

A huge polar bear and a gorilla were fighting it out as Cindarr and Cryotek crossed paths. Virulina and Galadria circled each other warily, watching the other for an opening. Elsewhere Darkling Lords and Spectral Knights crossed swords, changing from human to beast and back to gain an advantage.

Chase saw Reekon and Lexor converge on Ectar, she started towards him when a heavy weight dropped onto her shoulders. Duncan's boa constrictor eyes met hers, he hissed in her face as he wrapped another coil around her. Her breathing was starting to become restricted, Duncan was eyeing her evilly. She smiled sweetly at him and transformed to a puma, she was suddenly thinner and managed to wriggle out of Duncan's coils. She changed back to human in time to block his first blow. His axe grazed her armour, but she had stopped the main blow. Duncan twisted his axe so that the flat of the blade was striking at her.

"I don't want to hurt you, Chase."

"No? Just knock me senseless?" She questioned as she ducked a blow that would indeed have left her reeling.

"Maybe I could knock some sense into you." He panted side-stepping her swipe at him with her sai. "We belong together."

She shook her head. "No. Never. Not ever."

"I love you." He stepped back for a second, glaring at her. "You belong to me."

Chase growled, then stepped forward closing the gap between them. She reversed her sai and butted him in the stomach with the handle of the blade. Duncan gave a groan but came forward to defend himself. Chase didn't give him the chance, keeping on the attack and giving him no chance to counter attack.

"I. Do. Not. Belong. To. You." She hissed furiously at him, punctuating each word with a strike.

Duncan reared back from her onslaught and raised his axe. Chase swivelled her sai to bring the blade back into play.

"Give up, Duncan."

"Never."

He pulled out his power staff and smiled in a way that made her shiver. "Snoring sound and dreaming deep send me now the sand of sleep." A wizened old man with a heavy sack appeared from his staff, hovering in mid-air. The old man grinned maliciously.

"Can your boyfriend fly?" Duncan asked. The old man smirked then took off towards Witterquick who was swooping around Cravex in the hoverchair.

"No!" Chase cried as the man reached into his sack and threw sand in Witterquick's face.

Instantly the Knight fell forward over the controls as sleep overtook him. The hoverchair started to plummet with Witterquick's dead weight on the controls.

"Witterquick!" Chase yelled as though she could wake him with her shout. Then she was gone, a puma racing towards where Witterquick would fall.

Arzon banked suddenly as he heard Chase's cry. His keen eagle eyes spotted Witterquick and he folded his wings in tight and dropped after his friend.

The little old man didn't stop with Witterquick, he had already moved on the Galadria showering her with sand and moving on again until Leoric's whip caught him, causing him to vanish.

Arzon caught hold of Witterquick a few feet off the ground. The hoverchair righted itself as his weight was removed. Arzon dropped him into one of the seats on the Capture Chariot. Chase was at his side in an instant.

"Is he alright?" She asked frantically.

"I think so. I caught him before he hit." Arzon told her.

"Ducan's power of sleep got Galadria as well." Ectar called, as he deflected twin blows aimed for him and Galadria.

"Duncan." Chase's eyes narrowed. She changed back to a puma and roared. Then she set off, through the many battles that were still being fought. Her huge paws struck Duncan at chest height knocking him off his feet on to his back. His head bounced on the ground bringing it into close proximity with Chase's bared teeth. He recoiled and struggled to wriggle away from her. Chase growled deep and low in her throat, a growled that rumbled deeper and longer than it should. Duncan's eyes widen with fear.

"What's the matter Duncan?" Reekon chuckled dryly. "Your lady love suddenly not so appealing?"

Ectar took advantage of his lapse of concentration to get in a lucky blow. Reekon cursed and swiped back at him.

Cravex's phylot swooped overhead and dropped a stone for Darkstorm.

"I have it." Darkstorm cried out. "Darkling Lords, victory is ours. Away."

Chase glanced towards him as he waved the gem triumphantly. Duncan seized the opportunity to transform to his snake totem and slide away. Chase snapped her head back round to roar at him, then she padded over to Feryl's wolf who was slinking out from the undergrowth.

"The Darkling Lords have the Twisted root gem." Ectar cried, starting after the departing Darkling Lords.

"No." Feryl corrected him, changing back to human. "He thinks he has the gem." He smiled and produced the Twisted root gem. "I let Cravex think that he had it. It was the only way to get him off my tail.

"Well done Feryl." Leoric congratulated him.

"If Witterquick and Galadria are safely strapped in, we can be off." Cryotek said, swinging himself into the driving seat of the Capture Chariot. The Knight's climbed aboard and headed home. Chase sat next to Witterquick watching him intently for any signs of him waking. There wasn't one, he slept soundly his head resting on her shoulder.

When they arrived back they put Witterquick and Galadria in their quarters. Chase wanted to stay with Witterquick but Ectar led her away.

"Who knows how long he'll sleep for. He's fine. Leave him be and get some rest yourself."

"I can't sleep."

"You can and you will." Ectar told her. "Follow Witterquick's example. I'm sure he and Galadria will sleep till morning. You should do the same."

"It's my fault." Chase studied his face for any sign that he agreed with her.

"No it's not."

"It is. Just like you said. Duncan went after him because of me."

"And Galadria? You think he went after her because of you too?"

Chase hung her head and didn't reply.

"Get some sleep. We'll talk in the morning."

She nodded and moved slowly to her room with many a backward glance at Witterquick's room.

O

Witterquick woke, rolled over and opened his eyes. He was surprised to see that he was still dressed in his armour. He sat up, trying to remember when he had gone to bed. It must have been late if he hadn't bother to change.

"No, wait…" It suddenly came back to him. Duncan's power of sleep. He'd been wide awake one second and fast asleep the next. What had happened next? He got up, changed, dressed and hurried to find the others. Did the Darkling Lords manage to get the gem?

"Hey." Feryl greeted him. "So you finally decided to wake up then."

"Who's awake?" Chase came round the corner. "You're up!" She threw herself and him and hugged him tightly.

Witterquick kissed her lightly. "So what happened?"

"Feryl managed to trick Cravex into thinking that he had the gem." Chase told him.

Feryl shrugged. "And then they all just left."

Witterquick grinned. "Those guys never hang around long enough for us to totally beat them."

O O O O O O O O O O

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