George shrugged. "I don't know." He put the stone inside his tunic. "We need to get going. We've lost too many moments already. Let's open the door of the shrine and retrieve the key."

Kepler nudged Marcus' head with his paw and then pressed the tip of one of his claws against the chancellor's temple. "What about him? Should I end him? It's only fair after what he did."

"Naw. Just leave him alone. I have plans for him. He has things to do ... things that will stir the pot a bit."

"What kind of things? And what pot are you referring to?"

The mage patted the side of Kepler's neck. "Let's go. We'll talk about it on the way. I'm sure you'll get a kick out of my arrangement with Marcus. I think it'll benefit us."

Payne tugged on the end of George's tunic. "What 'arrangement' mean?"

"Be quiet, Freak," Kepler growled. "He wasn't talking to you."

"Ebbish nay, Kitty. Be gooder to Payne. Kitty supposed to be friend to Payne now."

Kepler growled again. "George ... why did you have to bring me back?"

George stopped and threw his arms around Kepler's neck. "Because I love you, buddy."

The jaguar squirmed. "Ebbish nay!"

4 Peaks of Bailem have Pa.s.sed Shalee and Kiayasis are now left to walk on foot. Joss has injured his leg and has had to fly back to the stables in Bestep to be cared for. They should have arrived at Grogger's Swamp by now, but with the loss of Joss' ability to travel, they are still 10 Peaks away.

Kiayasis was unable to carry his armor, their camp supplies and Shalee's bags during the same moments. As a result, he has been wearing his armor and carrying their camp supplies while Shalee has been carrying her bags and his clothes strapped to her back. She has used her magic to make their loads lighter.

George, Payne, and Kepler have set up camp. They can see the entrance to the Void Maze. It took most of the last 4 Peaks to cross the Ebarna Strait. Other than the boat ride, they have had to walk the distance to get to this spot. None of them knows the terrain well enough to teleport without fear for their safety.

Athena, Mary, and Susanne have decided to take another trip to Inspiration. They have agreed that, after having a small get together with Gregory and Brayson, the woman who scared them half to death was wrong and there was nothing to worry about. They plan to avoid her store and her prophecies of doom.

Boyafed is scheduled to meet with Lord Dowd. He has summoned the white paladin leader to meet with him just outside the city of Marcus near the sh.o.r.eline of Lake Id. The Order leader wants to a.s.sure Dowd that the Order has no plans to attack Inspiration.

Gregory plans to meet with the King of Lavan. There are issues that need to be addressed concerning the construction of the bridge that will connect their cities.

Mieonus has been watching Shalee and Kiayasis. She now knows of their plan to head to Grogger's Swamp. She has sent word to the Book, requesting to speak with Lasidious and Celestria.

Mosley has plans to meet again with Alistar.

Hosseff has been watching Marcus ever since the Dark Chancellor's prayer to invoke his Touch of Death. After watching Kepler's resurrection, the shade has been curious about the alliance Marcus made with George. He figures the events that should unfold as a result of this union will be worth watching.

Brayson is waiting for Morre to respond to his request to have a conversation. He has been inside his office since the Peak of Bailem yesterday waiting for his mirror to activate.

Thank you for reading the Luvelles Gazette

CHAPTER 14.

Poorly Aimed Arrows 2 Peaks of Bailem Later Ancients Sovereign AFTER CONSIDERING MIEONUS' REQUEST to speak with them, Lasidious and Celestria appeared inside Mieonus' new home. The G.o.ddess of Hate was drinking wine while she was watching Shalee and Kiayasis within her waterfall that fell like a sheet of gla.s.s into the pool below.

Despite the ma.s.sive amount of water that funneled through the structure, it was pleasant on the main level where the G.o.ds stood. Mieonus turned away from the images in the waterfall to acknowledge her visitors. "I am pleased you came."

"Why did you summon us, Mieonus?" Lasidious questioned.

Mieonus walked across the room and made herself comfortable on a black settee, upholstered with a plush cloth and thick cushions. She set her wine on a shaped stone and then lifted a bowl that was filled with grapes. "Would you care for one?"

Celestria rolled her eyes. "Just get to the point. Why have you called us here?"

"I thought you would find it interesting that I've figured out where Shalee is going. She thinks the crystal has been hidden in Grogger's Swamp. What I can't figure out is why would a paladin of the Order be escorting a human? It doesn't make sense."

Celestria walked to the railing and studied the images portrayed in the fall. Shalee and Kiayasis were walking hand-in-hand. "Lasidious, are you seeing this?"

The Mischievous One could only laugh. "I wish Sam was here to see this. How wonderful it would be to watch his reaction. Better yet, how fun would it be to watch a battle between Sam and Kiayasis? I would wager hefty coin on Sam's blade."

Celestria purred as she leaned into Lasidious. "I would not be so sure about that. The paladins of the Order are trained under the harshest circ.u.mstances. Kiayasis is Boyafed's son. I would not be surprised if Kiayasis sent Sam's soul to find its place within the Book."

Mieonus cut in. "Aren't you two the least bit curious as to why Kiayasis is with Shalee in the first place?"

Both G.o.ds answered as if they shared the same mind. "No. Should we be?"

Mieonus threw her legs off the side of the settee. The heels of her lifted shoes pounded against the floor. "Of course, you should! The Order exists to serve Hosseff. Shalee represents everything good. Why would she be traveling with someone like Kiayasis?"

Lasidious moved behind Celestria and put his arms around her. "Mieonus, perhaps you should consider Shalee's ignorance about the Order and their ways. Perhaps she thinks Kiayasis is charming. Kiayasis may have found her beauty appealing and offered to a.s.sist her on her journey for this reason alone. Why are you so worried about such trivial matters? You should be more concerned about the missing piece of the Crystal Moon."

"The crystal is already mine," Mieonus boasted as she stood to wave her hand in the direction of the waterfall. The image of Kiayasis and Shalee was replaced with an image of George. The mage's group was sitting outside the entrance to the Void Maze. Kepler was lying next to the mage and Payne was chasing the demon-cat's tail as it flopped back and forth. "George is on his way to speak with the Source. Once he looks into the Eye, the crystal will be under my team's control. Evil will rule the worlds as you promised."

Lasidious and Celestria's laughter deflated Mieonus' confidence.

"What's so funny?"

Lasidious responded. "The crystal isn't hidden inside the Eye. George misunderstood the three words on the parchment. It appears Shalee is on the right path."

"What?" Mieonus shouted. "How could this be? The words spoke of a soul swallowed. The Eye does this. What else could it be?"

It was Celestria's turn to answer. "Look at it this way, Mieonus. If we were to put the crystal inside the Eye, and the Eye decided to swallow George's soul, he would not be able to return the crystal to us, now would he? But on the other hand, if we were to put the crystal in, ohhh, let's just say ... somewhere inside Grogger's Swamp, more specifically, inside the toad's belly ... a person with the magic necessary to handle the task could retrieve the crystal without being harmed. It appears Shalee is closer to finding the crystal than George."

Mieonus stomped her right foot. "Errrrrr! This is irritating! By the moment George finishes the trials and figures out the crystal isn't there, Shalee will possess the third piece."

Celestria reached out and adjusted the straps of Mieonus' gown. "I'm sorry, but it appears you will need to try for the next piece once we've hidden it."

Mieonus pulled away. "Don't touch me! This is ridiculous! I have half a mind to stop playing your stupid game."

Lasidious smiled. "You're right about having half a mind, but the game is fun, and you won't stop playing it. Think about it. You can keep yourself entertained while watching Shalee and Kiayasis. It seems their relationship will provide the means for wonderful confrontations. Not to mention, Celestria and I have been watching the brothers. It looks like there's something brewing on Luvelles."

"What do you mean?"

Lasidious and Celestria vanished, leaving Mieonus standing in front of the images of George and his posse. She stomped her lifted heel again. "d.a.m.n! No one answers my questions anymore!"

The City of Inspiration Lord Dowd's Home Lord Dowd stood next to his ghostly mount behind his home. He had worked hard to perfect his courtyard garden. This was his place of solitude, a relaxing escape where he sat on many nights to unwind after a Peak of intense training.

Despite the no-nonsense presence his army had come to know so well, Dowd had a green thumb, and it was the simple things in life that he enjoyed most. Everywhere he looked something beautiful grew: roses, daisies, and other exotic flowers and bushes known only to Western Luvelles. His favorite within his self-planted world was the Sordandrian Sorgel, an intoxicating bush that when fully grown stood almost eye-level. The plant was covered with white, lacy leaves and orange blooms. It emitted a natural opiate that smelled like citrus and gave the person savoring its scent a short-lived buzz.

Dowd was a proud man. His silver and black armor was polished to perfection and fitted perfectly to his frame. His hair had been cut, and he felt confident about his upcoming meeting with Boyafed on the sh.o.r.eline of Lake Id.

After removing his cape that was attached to a special set of snaps on the top of his shoulders, he placed the garment inside a saddle satchel that hung on the right side of his mount. "The moment has come, boy," Dowd said, as he traced the hazy outline of his mount with his eyes. "Let's hope this meeting has merit. There's no telling what Boyafed's thinking after releasing Tolas and his men."

Now, fellow soul ... allow me to tell you about the white army's mounts. There were no stables necessary to house these creatures. They were carefree and required no special provisions.

Shaban was a spirit-bull, and his weight equalled that of a bull from Earth, amplified by five. At almost 15,000 pounds when materialized, Shaban had been Dowd's mount for more than 100 seasons. The bull had the ability to use defensive and offensive magic while Dowd remained mounted or touched Shaban in any way. But when Dowd dismounted or fell from his saddle, the spirit-bull dematerialized and became weightless, appearing as an apparition. Shaban would stay in this form until Dowd touched him or his tack again.

Now, how Lord Dowd bonded with his mount would be a whole other story. I shall save this tale for another series of moments.

When Dowd touched the spirit-bull's satchel, the beast materialized. The ground crushed beneath the animal's hooves as the weight of Shaban's 15,000 pound frame created four large impressions.

The white army leader grabbed the reins and petted Shaban's snout. "Come down here, boy, and let's have a look at you before we go."

Shaban dropped to his knees and moved his head from side to side, allowing his master to rub his snout from all angles. This simple exchange of affection was yet another pleasantry that Dowd enjoyed, but this moment was to be short-lived.

From an unknown location, a crossbow bolt flew past Dowd's head and pierced Shaban's left eye. The spirit-bull exploded, the shock wave sending Dowd flying backward into the mouth of a well that sat at the center of his garden. His armor quickly filled with water, and the weight of the metal sucked him under the surface.

From the far side of the courtyard, the Dark Chancellor lowered his crossbow and pa.s.sed his hand through the air. "I can't have you teleporting out of there," he whispered.

As Marcus stared at the opening of the well, he replayed the explosion in his mind. "Hmmm! Unexpected. They blow up. I would've never guessed that. If Dowd is going to perish as well, an adjustment to our plan will be necessary, George." The Dark Chancellor vanished.

Deep below the surface of the water, Dowd worked to remove his armor once he realized that he was unable to teleport. Every strap fought against his survival. It felt as if he could not move fast enough, and his air was in short supply. His mind began to cloud as he fought the need to gasp.

Just as his last bit of oxygen escaped his lips, something hit his shoulder. Dowd turned and located a rope that had a small stone attached to its end. He tugged. It was secure. Without hesitation, he pulled himself to the surface.

As he emerged, the air was like a drug when it filled his lungs. After catching his breath, he struggled to remove each piece of armor while draping his arm through a la.s.so he created to free both hands. It took all of his strength to climb up and over the top of the well's mouth.

Dowd collapsed onto the ground, but only rested for a moment before he pulled his armor to the surface. With his chest heaving, he scanned the area, but no one was visible. Who would throw me a rope and just leave, he thought.

As he tossed his armor to the ground, something caught his eye. He put his hands on top of his head to finish catching his breath and then moved to the area where the spirit-bull had been standing. The bolt killing Shaban was lying inside one of the spirit-bull's hoofprints. Upon further investigation, Dowd realized the bolt had been fired from an Order crossbow because of the unique color of the fletchings. He rolled the projectile in his hand and uttered only one word, "Boyafed."

As Dowd tapped the bolt against the palm of his hand, the G.o.d of Death was standing near him-invisible-not more than three paces away. Hosseff smiled as he watched the white paladin retrieve his armor and head inside his home. "This should provide good entertainment," the G.o.d of Death muttered. "With war, comes death. I so love death."

The shade waved his hand over the top of the rope that he used to save Dowd. It lifted from the ground and then floated to the spot where the G.o.d had found it. As it hung itself up, the deity envisioned his haunted garden on Ancients Sovereign and then vanished.

Meanwhile, the Underground Village of Gogswayne It did not take long for Gage to realize that living with the goswigs was not going to be easy. Strongbear kept everyone busy, and over the last few Peaks, the bear had decided to expand their underground world.

The badger could not fathom where Strongbear found his energy. He ran his diner, made blankets for the other goswigs, and if that was not enough, the bear found the moments to supervise the growth of the village.

"Good morning, Gage," Strongbear said from behind the counter of his diner as he tossed another new blanket in the badger's direction. "Are you with me ... or are you against me on this Peak?"

Gage rolled his eyes and responded in a half-hearted tone. "I'm with you." He was sick of hearing the bear's stupid statement. It was always the same old thing whenever Strongbear wanted something. Gage took a seat and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "What are you going to make us do now?"

Strongbear smiled as a brown bear would. "I think we're going to continue working on the area south of the village. We have a lot of dirt to move before we'll have our new lake."

Gallrum shouted from across the dining room. "Let him wake up, will you? No one is with you when they're half asleep!" The Serwin flew across the room to join Gage at his table. "The poor guy hasn't even had the moments to breathe this morning, and you're already growling at him."

Gallrum's tail coiled as he lowered his body to the seat. "How are you this morning, Gage?"

Gage pulled his paws away from his eyes and looked around before he answered. The diner was pleasant, but rugged-looking, and was similar in style to Strongbear's cave that sat just behind his establishment. Many of the goswigs Gage had met at the village meeting were having breakfast and enjoying pleasant conversation.

Strongbear was known for his ability to serve each goswig what they enjoyed most. There were beavers who feasted on bark, chickens eating grain, eagles ripping apart raw fish, billy goats gnawing on straw, lions devouring corgan meat, fairies nibbling on fruit, bats drinking the blood drained from corgans, wolves, boars, and many other forms of animals and other mythical creatures, and they were all being satisfied.

"I'm fine, thank you," Gage responded. "Doesn't Strongbear ever take a Peak off? Why does everyone listen to him anyway? It's not like the village will fall apart if he has fun every now and then. We should find a way to force him to relax."

Gallrum laughed. "Normally, Strongbear would be hibernating by now, but for some reason, summer has continued to drag on. We usually enjoy ourselves while he sleeps."

"I heard that!" Strongbear shouted from the far side of the diner. "You're all going to need your strength on this Peak! So I would eat up if I were you!" As if instructed to do so, every goswig moaned and started to complain at the same moment.

"Knock it off, and eat!" Strongbear commanded. The bear turned and went into his kitchen-cave.

They lowered their heads as instructed and began eating. As usual, Gallrum ate quaggle, but Gage did not have an appet.i.te for eyes. The badger had adapted many seasons ago and enjoyed normal, every Peak elven food. He ate strips of ham, which irritated the boars, eggs which made the chickens nervous, and followed them up with a small loaf of freshly baked bread that seemed to sit better with everyone.

After breakfast, Strongbear ordered the group to report to the dig site. "I want that lake to be finished before I pa.s.s. That's one big hole we need to dig, so we can't afford to waste the Peak. There are just too many projects to be done in this village before we're finished. Let's get moving! Are you with me ... or are you against me?"

Gage just rolled his eyes.

Meanwhile, Western Luvelles The Void Maze After a long conversation, George and the demon-cat had decided that Kepler would lead the trio into the maze after finishing their meal. Between bites, George looked across the field toward the entrance of the maze and studied the tall, leaf-covered bushes that shaped its walls.

Since their arrival, something had been bothering the mage, but he could not figure out what it was or why he had such a sick feeling in his stomach. George tossed the spoon onto his plate, and then lowered it to the ground. "Kep, that place gives me the creeps. Even from here, it freaks me out."

Kepler swallowed a mouthful of corgan that he had ended the night before. "It doesn't look bad to me. I can prowl that territory just as I can any other."

Payne looked up from his seated position next to George. "Why go in, Master?"

"Because we need to get to the temple at the center of the maze."

"Why?"

"I have told you twice already. We need to see the Source. Going through the maze is the only way to get to him."

"No ... um ... no, no, it not."

Kepler growled. "Look, Freak. It's the only way. You're wasting our moments by arguing."

"No, Kitty. Payne show you." The fairy-demon spread his wings and flew toward the maze.

Once George understood what Payne was doing, he turned to face Kepler. "He might have a good idea. He's going to fly over the top and find the temple. We'll be able to teleport right to it once I look into his mind to see what he saw."

Kepler snarled, "The little freak is brilliant. Who would've ever guessed?"

"I know. Can you believe that?"