Chapter 5.

By Carycomic

"A parallel universe?!" echoed Kaulder, in semi-disbelief.

"Yes," replied Aranea. "Observe!"

Whereupon, the spider-mage lifted her first three arms (upper and middle left; and upper right) to conjure up the mystical equivalent of three holograms in mid-air.

"Behold! The worlds of Arda, Oerth, and Azeroth. On the latter, a cult of mogu (blue-skinned ogre magi), led by one Kor'nas Nightsavage, entered the Caverns of Time with a draconic pacification staff. Their purpose? To mind-control the bronze dragons who guard those caverns into letting Kor'nas go back in time and thereby locate a missing talisman called the Dark Staff of Annihilation. Little knowing, of course, that on the world of Oerth, a wizard called Mordenkainen had recently been brought that artifact! It was done by some adventurers who had collected it, as a souvenir, during a quest to a certain cursed cave in a mountain range called the Barrier Peaks."

"Mordenkainen placed that artifact upon a stone pedestal in the highest room of his tower stronghold, so he could cast a spell that would allow him to psychometrically learn its origins. In that regard, he succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. He learned that it had come from a whole other galaxy... far, far away!"

"Meanwhile, on Arda, another wizard, called Saruman the White, misguidedly used a scrying globe called the Palantir to try and spy upon a certain necromancer only to fall under that necromancer's spell himself! Though, even that feat was no easy task. As it required the help of the enslaved spirit of Saruman's own other-dimensional counterpart... from that same distant galaxy."

"Three different spells cast simultaneously by three different magic-users. Each spell feeding off the other two. Resulting in three different worlds, frozen in time, while orbiting this world as unnatural moons encased in massive crystal spheres!"

"Wait a minute!" exclaimed Kaulder. "Did you say 'Saruman the White?' But, he's. . ."

"...a figure of latter-day myth on your world," Aranea concluded. "Yes, I know. But, in this universe, he is all too real! And it is his power that is being exploited by the true evil behind this unholy plot to permanently conjoin these three worlds."

Kaulder crisscrossed his arms in open skepticism.

"Who might that be, and what do you expect me to do about it?"

"Glordelia, the Witch-Queen of Pylea. And I wish you to do what you do best. Kill her!"

"Heh!" Kaulder grunted in bemusement. "You make it sound so easy. But, if there's anything I learned in eight hundred years of witch-hunting, it's that no witch, no matter how powerful, could tap into, and modify, the three spells you describe all by herself. She'd need a coven to back her up. One twice the size of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, at least!"

"Or, failing that," replied Aranea. "...a handful of mystic talismans of collectively equal power. And, on this world, there are no talismans of greater, more ancient power... than the Silmarils. The crystalline remnants of the One Great Universe that existed before the multiverse!"

"And just where on this world does she keep these things?"

Whereupon, the spider-mage used her right middle hand to create a fourth magical hologram. This one, however, was not like a piece of movie film on freeze frame. This was more like a DVD that had been put on "mute," as it showed a scantily-clad young woman, with short brown hair, lithely moving around on a four-poster bed... while an equally half-naked young man with long black hair fed her grapes.

"Behold, Glordelia. Indeed! Take special note of the tiara atop her head."

It was as if some hidden digital video recorder zoomed in for a close-up. Thereby allowing Kaulder to see three objects embedded in the tiara. Objects that initially resembled silvery-white pearls of the finest quality. That is, till he saw them change color. Solid red, solid blue, and solid green, respectively... at first. Then, he saw swirling combinations of those colors appear on each "pearl".

"Even alexandrite can't do that," he muttered half-aloud.

"Precisely!" agreed the spider-mage.

"OK, then," said the immortal witch-hunter. "...I guess that makes my next two questions, 'Where's Pylea?' and 'Who's the strange bedfellow?' "

"The young woman is her lover and personal bodyguard, known only as 'The Groosalug.' As to Pylea's location? Let me give you a mystic summary of this world's geography."

Whereupon, Aranea brought her bottom pair of hands together. The palms touching as if in a slow-motion clap. Yet, a moment later, pulling apart just as slowly. The resulting magical hologram showing a map of the immediate region that she had earlier referred to as "The Three Kingdoms".

"To the east lies the mountainous Kingdom of Carpia. Once ruled by Good Queen Luisa and her warmage-consort, Gabriel. To the north? The dragon-worshiping Kingdom of Zendikar, from whence came Carpia's undoing. The warg-riding troll hordes of Turok the Usurper! And, last but not least; to the south and west? The mighty Kingdom of Ehb, ruled by he who was once known simply as 'Farmer Jonas of Statham' ".

"Statham," echoed Kaulder. "Why does that sound so familiar?"

"Perhaps you met each other in a previous incarnation," the spider-amge commented. "What is relevant is that you must journey through Ehb to reach the seaport of Baldur's Gate. It is the southernmost seaport on this continent! And it is there only that you _might_ find a ship with a captain daring enough to sail you to Pylea. For the latter is an island-nation, located on the very equator of this world! Hence, the sun- -quite literally- -never sets on it. Thereby making an unauthorized landfall... immensely difficult. Indeed; that difficulty is compounded by the fact that vertebrates of your pigmentation are subject to summary arrest and enslavement, there, by the majority population!"

"Heh!" Kaulder grunted, once more. "So what else is new?"

"There is even worse news," the spider-mage continued. "You must reach Pylea, and slay the Witch-Queen, no later than one week from today. For, if you do not, the spell she cast will be permanent. Thereby giving her three worlds' worth of raw magical power to draw upon for the completion of her plans!"

"Which are. . .?" prompted Kaulder.

"To return to- -and conquer- -your world."

There followed an awkward pause that seemed to last forever. But, which was probably no more than two or three seconds, real time, at most.

"So, let me get this straight," growled the eight hundred-year-old witch hunter. "You bring me to a parallel world, ruled by a virtual evil goddess, straight out of D&D, in order to slay her. But, I have to go to her far-off island home to do it. And you're giving me only one week? How the frig do you expect me to even get to that frigging seaport you mentioned in so short a time? Especially, when I'm stuck in the middle of this frigging desert?"

Before Aranea could even answer one of those questions, a new voice joined the conversation.

"Excitable chap. Isn't he?"

Kaulder spun about to his right, instinctively reaching for his sword before remembering that it was back on Earth. Yet, even if he had remembered, he would still have wound up frozen with open-mouthed amazement at what he saw before him now.

None other than a blue-eyed, golden-horned, and purple-coated unicorn.

tbc

Special note: "Fire and Ice (The Dragon Chronicles)" was a 2008 made-for-TV movie filmed in Romania that starred Tom Wisdom as Gabriel... and Amy Acker as Princess Luisa of Carpia.