Chapter 4
All Good Things
'I said, we'll have that unicorn!'
Hank scrambled to his feet, looking blearily around. They were surrounded. Six tall men were standing around in a semicircle. They had no weapons, but each looked strong enough to wrestle an Orc, and win.
His friends were also standing. Bobby had his arm round the unicorn in question, and Sheila was standing protectively by her brother's side. Presto and Eric were nearby, the Cavalier looking especially shaky, as if he was mostly still asleep. Diana was…
Hank looked again. The Acrobat wasn't there!
'Where's Diana?' he demanded.
The leader of the group; a squat, broad man with a scowl that reminded Hank of his old Math teacher, gave a shrug.
'You should worry about yourselves!' he replied. His gazed flicked away from the Ranger, back to the terrified unicorn that was huddled against the Barbarian. 'We want the unicorn! She'll fetch a good price. In the right place!'
'She's mine!' shouted Bobby as he lifted his Club. 'No one's gonna take her away!'
The man laughed, and his friends behind joined in.
'Look, little boy,' he said. 'No one's going to buy her from you now! So you might as well just give her up peacefully.'
'She's my pet!' spat the Barbarian, as forcefully as he could. 'She's mine!'
The men laughed once more, and Hank lifted the Bow.
'I suggest you back off,' he said evenly. 'We don't wanna fight you, but…'
The men were just laughing harder.
'Look, sonny,' said the leader. 'Your weapons don't scare us!' He gave a wide, toothy grin than made Hank feel suddenly worried. 'Not now you've been to the Guild!'
The Ranger glanced down at the weapon in his hand. Surely the Magic at the Guild couldn't have… But the men were laughing again and seemed to know what he was thinking.
'Well, why don't you just try!' said the leader.
With his friends watching, Hank reached across to pull an arrow. Magic fizzed and sparked down the length on the Bow, making his fingers tingle, but no arrow came, no matter how hard he tried. In desperation, he looked round at the others.
Bobby tried to take a swipe at one of the men, but the Club went straight through. Next to her brother, Sheila lifted the hood of her Cloak, but instead of disappearing, she changed into someone else; a diminutive form of Venger, complete with black dress, miniature wings and a single horn.
'Eew! Gross!' she squealed, looking down at herself in horror, and yanked the hood back as quickly as she could.
Hank looked at the remaining two of his friends. Presto was staring down at his Hat in terrified silence, a glazed look on his face. No prizes for guessing why, and there was no way he was gonna try a spell at the moment! The Cavalier was struggling to control the Shield; it seemed to have developed a mind of it's own, and was trying to tug him up into the air. Finally, all he could do was pull it off his arm, and throw it to the ground behind them, where it stayed, twitching slightly.
'So then,' said the man, still grinning. 'What were you saying about "pets"?'
Hank glanced round in dismay, wondering what the next move should be. They were defenceless, and surrounded, and where was Diana? But as concerned as he was for the Acrobat, they had other, more pressing problems; the men were standing with an air of confidence that came of being completely in control. Hank gulped. He had no idea what they were gonna do, or how to get themselves out of this.
'That serves you right for trying to sell to the Guild without using us!' said the leader, pointing a grubby finger at Hank. 'Haven't you heard of Fair Trade?'
'We don't want to sell her, to the Guild, or to anyone!' replied the Ranger. 'She's a pet!'
'Unicorns as pets!' sneered the man. 'That's ridiculous! Next you'll be telling us Dragons are friendly!'
Another ripple of laughter spread round the group of men. Hank was trying desperately to think of a good way to extract themselves, and keep Uni safe at the same time. Maybe there was still a chance to talk their way out of this, if only they could just stay calm and act like rational…
The Cavalier suddenly stepped forward, in front of Bobby, Sheila and Uni. He didn't have his Shield, but he stood up tall, with his hands on his hips in the arrogant pose Hank knew so well.
'Uni's not going anywhere!'
There was sniggering from one of the men.
'Uni! Uni the unicorn!' The snigger changed into a braying laugh. 'What a stupid name!'
'Watch your mouth!' snarled Eric.
The leader stopped laughing, and smiled at the Cavalier.
'You can't stop us, boy!'
Eric didn't move. Hank could only see half the expression on his face, but that was enough to make him go cold. He knew, deep down, that their Cavalier would never in a million years pick a fight with six bigger men, and certainly not over the "dumb unicorn". But Eric showed no signs at all of backing down. In fact, if he hadn't known better, he would have thought that the Cavalier was eager for a showdown.
The leader stared at Eric, just as the others were doing, with an expression of mild surprise.
'I said, "you can't stop us!"'
They were locked eye-to-eye, glaring at each other. The Cavalier gave a deceptively casual shrug.
'That's what you think!'
This was such a bad idea, Hank knew it; there was no way to get avoid a confrontation if this continued! But this was a side of Eric's nature he had never seen. What had fuelled this sudden show of bravado? Hank could see the cold glare in the other boy's eyes; Eric was furious, pure and simple, and was not gonna make any effort to keep control. The leader seemed to realise this too, but he didn't seem worried. After all there were six of them! One cocky Cavalier wasn't enough to stop them; steel armour and a sullen attitude was only gonna get him so far!
Against all his better judgement, Hank took a step forward, closer to Eric's shoulder. A few seconds later, Presto moved forward too so that Bobby, Sheila and Uni were behind them.
Hank was close enough to see the look of pure and unadulterated anger on Eric's face; and he gulped. This was gonna get nasty…
'Hey! Hey, you!' came a voice.
The Ranger turned to look, even though he knew who it was: Diana!
Beside her was a tall, thin figure; hooded but obviously using magic. Hank's heart suddenly leaped. That MUST be Krin! She'd found him! That's where she had been!
The men turned too, and Hank was relieved to see an anxious expression on the leader's face.
'Krin!' hissed the man. 'You stay out of this! They're no concern of yours!'
The Wizard slowly shook his head, his features and clothes distorting as he moved, so much so that Hank blinked hard to make sure there was nothing wrong with his eyes. The leader took a single step back.
Krin didn't make any movement, but just waited. Hank was hardly breathing, hoping that the Wizard knew what he was doing; intimidation was only gonna get them so far. Long seconds passed, and no one moved, the men all staring at Krin. Doubts flooded through the Ranger. This wasn't gonna work.
Then slowly, never taking his eyes off the Wizard, the leader took another step back, away from the kids and the unicorn.
'I'll see you pay for this, Krin!' he snarled, still backing away. 'You should mind your own business!'
If this statement worried the Wizard, he didn't let it show. He just stood, hooded and impassive watching as the men backed away and disappeared off down the alley. As soon as they were out of sight, Hank turned back to the Acrobat with a huge grin. Behind him, he caught a quick glimpse of a tearful Bobby cuddling the shaking unicorn, and Sheila hugging her brother.
He moved towards Krin, questions already forming in his mind, but the Wizard pulled back, as if afraid, the magic shimmering again. The Ranger frowned, Krin was nothing like he'd expected. Hank glanced at Diana who was standing between them. There was a long moment of awkward silence before Hank managed to say:
'Thanks for helping us.'
He smiled at the Wizard who didn't move this time. Hank tried to make out an expression on the man's face, but the hood was well drawn forward. It was difficult to make out any details about him, except he seemed to be steeped in magic; it was almost flowing out of him, making it difficult to actually see what Krin looked like.
Suddenly, the Ranger realised that they were staring at the Wizard as if he was some kind of freak. No wonder he seemed uncomfortable. Then a scuffing noise from behind attracted his attention, and Hank whipped round, raising the Bow even though it was almost useless. But it was only the Cavalier retrieving his Shield from where he'd thrown it. This time, his weapon was still when he picked it up, but Eric was looking at it with a frown. Hank glanced down at the weapon in his own hand. What was going on?
They needed answers!
As he looked back to the Wizard, Diana finally spoke.
'I found Krin,' she said, gesturing to the Wizard just behind her. Hank smiled once more, as did the Thief, but the others all looked nervous. As awkward as Krin obviously felt, the Ranger knew he couldn't allow this situation to continue. They had to get out of here, and they had to somehow all get along together. This Wizard was the one Dungeonmaster said could send them home!
As if able to read his mind, Krin tilted his head, and looked properly at the Ranger for the first time. Hank felt himself flinch at the sight of the Wizard's distorted face; almost unrecognisable under all the magic.
'You should all follow, I suppose,' muttered Krin. 'Follow.'
He turned, leaving a swirl of magic in his wake, and walked briskly off back down the street where they came from. Diana beckoned them to go too, and followed the Wizard. Bobby, holding the unicorn in a fierce grip went after, with Sheila just behind. Presto looked up to Hank with a shrug, before going too. Then the Cavalier brushed past Hank, not looking him in the eye. Hank scowled at Eric's back, remembering the stand-off they'd only just survived and the danger he'd put them all in. Sticking up for his friends was one thing, but trying to face down six men on his own was dumb; bordering on plain stupid!
Hank almost confronted the Cavalier as they walked, but Eric seemed to be sulking once again, and the Ranger had more important things to worry about than having another petulant squabble with the other boy. It could wait until they had some answers, and found out what was going on; where Diana had found Krin, what had happened to the weapons, and how they were going to get home.
Hank suddenly smiled, in spite of himself. This was Krin! They had finally found him; and Krin could send them home! Speeding up, Hank overtook both Eric and Presto, falling into step beside Sheila and gave her a wide smile.
She smiled back, and they walked on together, following Krin and Diana down the road. They passed along the narrow street, and across an empty square. Krin lead them on, down more streets, towards the river and the port. They walked for a long while, and slowly they began to see a few people moving around, getting ready for the new day. Mostly they were ignored, but every so often Hank would see covert glances from some of the people, and it sent a cold sliver of fear down his spine.
Finally, the Wizard stopped outside a dark building; Hank couldn't quite bring himself to call it a house. He waited for the Young Ones to all catch up before pushing the door open and disappearing inside. Diana followed without hesitation and, trusting the Acrobat's intuition, Hank followed too.
He wasn't sure what he expected to find; perhaps somewhere dark and mysterious, or as cold and sombre as the Guild had been. Even in the gloom, Hank could see that it was just one room, a bit like a warehouse. Over in one corner there was a small table and a chair, and a pile of blankets that the Ranger assumed was a bed.
But the bulk of the floorspace was taken up with a huge sort of machine, lying with bits everywhere. There was a large, metal ring, maybe ten or fifteen feet across, with strange symbols covering it's surface. Around it, scattered in a seemingly random pattern, were magical items; wands, spellbooks, glowing orbs; and also a few bits of seaweed.
He didn't get a chance to get a really good look, as Krin herded them over to the far corner, away from his creation. They sat down in a circle on the floor but instead of staying, Krin ignored them, moving away to the other end of the room, and started pottering about moving things in a seemingly random fashion. The kids looked round at each other, and Hank spoke first.
'At least we've found Krin!' he said with a half-smile.
Diana smiled warmly back at him.
'Yeah, sorry about leaving you like that, but…' she gestured at the distracted Wizard behind her. 'He's a little bit, sensitive.'
'What happened?' Presto asked the Acrobat. 'How did you find him?'
Diana obviously didn't like admitting that he'd managed to sneak up on her, or that she'd had to practically drag Krin back to help, and Hank's good feelings started to fade as the Acrobat explained as much as she knew. She didn't have many answers, and they need to know what was going on.
'And he seems to need ay least one of us to help him get out of the Realm,' she said.
'Do you know how?' asked Hank. 'What's he trying to do?'
The Acrobat shrugged, then gestured at the ring on the floor.
'I'd guess that has something to do with it!'
'What is it?' whispered Bobby. 'It doesn't look like a portal to me!'
'It must be an artificial one,' said Presto excitedly. 'You know, a mechanical one, rather than a magical one. Wow, that's really cool! I wonder how it works!'
Hank frowned.
'Mechanical? Can you do that? Here?'
The Magician shrugged.
'Krin seems to think so,' he replied. 'And so did Dungeonmaster! "Krin can send you home"; that's what he said!'
They smiled at each other, until the Cavalier spoke.
'Actually, he said "Krin may be able to send you home". There is a difference!'
'Thanks a lot, Er-ic!' said the Barbarian sourly. The Cavalier gave a diffident shrug but didn't make any comeback.
Hank frowned at the other boy, growing more annoyed. OK, so Krin wasn't what they'd expected, but the least Eric could do was try and look on the bright side. They were so close to getting home this time. They'd found Krin, they were within a few feet of a portal! So close…So why couldn't that damn Cavalier show a bit of enthusiasm?
Eric looked up at him with red-tinged eyes, almost challenging the Ranger to say what he was thinking. The others were quiet, sensing the coming argument.
Hank waited, unwilling to be the one who started another fight, but the awkward silence was abruptly broken by the crack of glass on stone. Everyone turned.
Krin was standing close to the metal ring, looking down at the two halves of a crystal ball on the floor. He glanced round at the children, and Hank flinched once again as the Wizard looked into his eyes. Then he watched as Krin picked up the two pieces and carefully placed them on the ring, taking his time to make sure they were in just exactly the right place. Next to the Ranger, Presto was leaning forward, keen to see what was going on.
'What do you think he'll do next?' whispered the Magician. 'Maybe it's ready to use!'
As if he'd heard what Presto had said, the Wizard moved towards the group and sat down between Diana and Bobby. Uni leaned forward cautiously and gave him a shy sniff, then settled back down beside her master.
'You are as far-sighted as you are intelligent, young Magician,' said Krin, making Presto blush and give an awkward smile. 'This can indeed make portals.'
'It can send us home?' asked Bobby. 'Really?'
Krin nodded.
'It will create doors to any place, and any time, open to your past and future as well as your present.' Hank saw Bobby and Sheila smile at each other, but the Ranger had had enough experience of Dungeonmaster to know what was coming next: the sting in the tail. 'But… it is not ready. It needs something… more…'
The smiles died away as Krin turned to Diana. Hank could see the swirl of magic that passed for a face, and the pleading look that was written all over it.
'Child of Light,' said Krin, as Diana frowned at the name. 'I need your help, Child of Light.'
The Acrobat seemed to be expecting the request, but Bobby didn't let her speak.
'Why?' he demanded. 'What's going on? Why can't you just send us home?'
Krin shook his head, making Hank feel slightly nauseous.
'Magic,' said Krin in a quiet voice. 'So much magic here. Too much. In me, on you, too much. Too dark.'
Gently, Diana laid a hand on the Wizard's arm, and Hank had to admire the way she didn't shudder at the touch.
'Why don't you tell us what's happened. Maybe we can help.'
The man gave a sigh.
'I went to the Guild, I worked there, I studied there for years. I took what I thought I wanted, but… Everyone at the Guild is affected by the magic they wield.' He looked to Diana. 'You are affected too. Just being close to you all, makes it all the more real. I can feel it calling me.' He lowered his head. 'Magic has power over me. It lives in me, it strangles and caresses me. It has taken me all the places I never wanted to go.' There was an uncomfortable silence, but none of the Young Ones dared speak. 'The Guild, it takes magic; all magic. It burns with magic. It takes what it will, and changes what it wants, like the weapons.' Hank glanced down at the Bow. 'And the Guild controls the city.'
The way he said it made the Ranger uncomfortable. He'd heard this sort of tale before.
'Controls?' he asked. 'Controls, or enslaves?'
Krin didn't reply, and Hank was starting to like this situation even less than before. He could remember the feel of the city clearly, unpleasant and forced and dangerous. Yes, full of dangerous, unhappy people, all watched over by the all-powerful Guild. It made some sort of sense.
'And what will this portal do? Destroy the Guild and send us home?'
Krin shook his head.
'No,' he said, sounding surprised. 'It will take me away. It will take me to a world where I can be free, free of the magic. Forever and ever.' He looked up at Hank, bright blue magic blazing from where his eyes should have been. 'I have to be free!'
'Why don't you just leave?' asked Bobby. 'Get away from the city, just go?'
'I can't,' mumbled the Wizard. 'Ever. It will find me. Wherever I go in this world. The Guild does not want me to go. I know it too well.'
Hank frowned. He was talking as if the building itself was stopping him!
'You mean the people? The Wizards? Don't you?' asked Diana, obviously thinking the same thing as Hank. 'A building can't stop you! It can't get up and follow you!'
Krin didn't reply for a long while. Then he gave a sardonic smirk.
'Even as Dungeonmaster's pupils, you understand so little about Magic.' To Hank's surprise, Krin wasn't looking at Diana anymore, or even Presto. He was watching Eric with an expression of compassion.
'There are some in the Guild who are altogether too enamoured of its power,' continued the Wizard, his eyes never leaving the Cavalier. 'They will try and stop me. They think I'm to be feared for wanting to leave. They do not understand. But I couldn't stay.'
But why do you need us? thought Hank. He didn't say it out loud, as he wasn't so sure he wanted to know the answer. Dungeonmaster's words were loud in his mind: Remember, in this City everything has its price. Everything! From what Krin has said, the price was gonna be high! A wave of anger and despair swept through him, and he raised his hand to his eyes. This wasn't gonna work. Yet again! They were never gonna get home…
Hank looked up to see the Wizard watching him. The flash of magic had gone from his eyes, but there was still power swirling around, deforming his face. But this time the Ranger did flinch.
'You come from a world of no magic,' said Krin. 'I would be safe there. I would be free.'
'And we could go home,' added Presto wistfully.
'But why do you need us?' asked Diana.
Krin shook his head.
'I need you! You have the Light within you.' He smiled at her, the magic in his face almost quiet. 'You are the Child of Light.'
The Ranger glanced up at Diana. He knew how she felt about the whole business at Turad: she had cried on his shoulder often enough. But he also knew how she felt; she had traded their way home for Kosar's life. She had reacted from the heart, and even though everyone had agreed with her decision, he sensed how much that had cost her personally to make that choice. Diana sat quietly as they all looked at her, trying to force herself to speak without crying.
'I don't know what you mean,' she said eventually. 'After Starfall, everything… went away…'
The sad, hurt look on her face was intolerable to the Ranger. She had been through enough without Krin making it worse.
'Look,' he said suddenly, 'We need more answers than that! Diana won't help unless we know what's going on at the Guild. How can…'
The question was interrupted by a cold laugh from the Wizard.
'What is "going on"! But you have been to the Guild,' said Krin bluntly, and there was a look of disgust on his face that Hank didn't like. 'You met them!'
This was not the reply the Ranger had expected. He thought back to the Wizards from the Guild, feeling even more uneasy than before. They had all felt uncomfortable at there, and knowing how much magic power was there didn't make him feel any better. He had the terrible feeling they had stumbled onto something much more complicated and dangerous than they'd thought.
'Tell me,' said Krin with a twisted smile. 'What did they do to you?'
'We were interviewed!' said Bobby, his tone somewhere between pride and embarrassment. 'They asked us load of questions.'
The Wizard's smile twitched.
'Yes, I know what interviewed means, Barbarian!' he hissed, narrowing his eyes. 'But who? To which of them did you speak? Tell me!'
The others looked at Hank, expecting him to go first.
'Shawn,' he said. 'And we met Meylar outside too.'
Krin's expression didn't change. The Ranger couldn't help but remember the general air of distrust and dislike that seemed to appear in the Guild as soon as Krin's name was mentioned. Certainly, Shawn hadn't liked him. And Meylar didn't seem too impressed either.
'We spoke with Wrene,' said Bobby, gesturing to his sister. Still, Krin didn't react.
'Melor,' said Presto.
'Rimush,' said Diana.
At the name, Krin gave a small humph, the twisted smile now a sneer of disgust.
'Of course you did! And you spoke of me? What did he say?'
Diana flushed, and looked to Hank for support, but he could only shrug.
'He said, that you were… dangerous,' replied the Acrobat with a rueful smile.
Then Krin laughed, loud and long, the sound echoing round the room. As the sound died away, he turned to the last of them, the Cavalier, as did everyone else. Eric said nothing, just looked round at the faces of his friends with a growing air of panic.
Hank did a double take, suddenly understanding, but Diana beat him to speaking.
'You did talk to someone, didn't you?' she asked.
The Cavalier looked startled by the directness of the question, and didn't reply fast enough to stop Hank realising the truth. Of course, no one had spoken to Eric; it was so obvious now! His reaction to the questions earlier hinted that something was wrong.
A conflicting suite of emotions passed through the Ranger; but mostly there was anger that Eric was he one let off the hook. He didn't have to spend hours bandying words with Wizards or worrying about what to say, or if he was giving too much away! But there were other questions too: What had Eric done in those few hours in the Guild; but also, and perhaps more importantly why had Shawn just left him, of all people? Hank could remember Shawn's natural dislike of the Cavalier, his snide disdain and apparent surprise when Hank had mentioned the Warlock. But then, they had spoken of Darkhaven too; surely someone as interested in magic as Shawn professed to be would have wanted to know more?
But these thoughts were swept away as Hank looked at the face of his so-called friend. The Cavalier was looking at the floor, his face as red as his cape, with an expression of shame that just made Hank angrier. He probably didn't bother to wait around for his Wizard to show up!
'Why didn't you say earlier?' he demanded. 'What were you thinking!'
Eric looked up with the same expression his face then Krin suddenly gave a soft chuckle.
'Heart of darkness and the tainted of impurity, why would anyone need him?'
The Cavalier had turned to glare at the Wizard, but Hank wasn't gonna let him off the hook this time!
'What did you do?' asked the Ranger. 'Slope off to the kitchens for some free food!'
The hurt expression that flashed across Eric's face did nothing to appease Hank's anger. 'Or did you just hide, as usual?'
It wasn't the sort of think Hank would usually have said, but the words were out now, and even though he knew he'd gone too far, he didn't really regret saying it. Eric was being more difficult and uncooperative than usual. He was acting in a way that was endangering the safety of them all. He was making no effort to be one of the team, and he had to be told that that sort of behaviour wasn't gonna be tolerated anymore!
The Cavalier had whipped round to face him, the same fierce anger in his eyes that Hank had seen before. But Eric did say anything, just glared at the Ranger as if trying to see into him, but the Ranger would be damned if he was gonna speak first! He wasn't the one who was in the wrong! The silence seemed never-ending, and Hank kept quiet, waiting.
But eventually it was Sheila who spoke, for the first time since they'd arrived.
'Look, Hank. We can't stay here. Whatever we're gonna do, let's do it soon.' He looked into her eyes, seeing the hope muted with worry. 'Those thugs, they knew Krin. They might know where he lives. They might be back.'
Beside her, Uni shuffled closer to Bobby, and looked up at Hank. Whatever his personal feelings might be at the moment, they had other things to think about, more important things than the Cavalier.
Hank looked back to Krin, aware that he still hadn't told them exactly what he was gonna do, or exactly why he needed Diana's help.
There was a noise from the doorway, and Hank turned expecting to see the same group of men as before. But instead it was an animal, like a lion, but with face of an old man and two large, bat-like wings. It stood and stared at the group with a malevolent smile.
'You!' hissed Krin, rising slowly, his magic him whipped up into an instant frenzy. 'I should have known!'
There was a light laugh from the shadows behind the creature.
'Yes, Krin! Yes. You should.'