“You are a weaker than I thought. That was not much of a defense, earth lord. I expected greater things from you.” He laughed raucously at the bent figure before him. He was enjoying the fact that he was able to so easily break a guardian. He really did believe that it would take days of torture instead of a few minutes.
“Leave me, dark one. You have what you were sent here for. Go back to your new master and report what you have found.”
“I serve no one!” He smacked the poor Elemental across his right temple with his black, gnarly staff. Everything went dark, and Keb knew no more for a space of time.
“Mistress Kana, I have the information that you were unable to find,” stated the dark lord wickedly.
“Very good; let’s hear what you have found out,” replied Kana coolly. She did not care for her dark companion, but she could not dismiss his results and his effectiveness. Sometimes a person is required to make a pact with the devil in order to achieve their designs. This was one of those situations. It was just too bad that this devil annoyed her.
“What is in it for me?” He felt that his bargaining position had improved since their first meeting. He was going to push his advantage while he still had it.
“Well, it seems to me that you feel you are in a position to change the deal. Why don’t you show me what you have found, and I will tell you if it is worth giving you an expanded area to rule.” The hint of a threat in her voice was unmistakable. After all, it was she that had undone Drogan’s attempt at world domination the last time. She was even more capable than before at controlling the dark beast, and she was simply making that clear to her fellow conspirator.
“As you wish, my witch.” He did a quick and unconvincing bow of submission.
“If you would like, I could return you to your beloved icy fortress instead.” She wanted to make it very clear that she was in charge of things.
“Once you hear what I have to say, you will not blame me for trying to better my situation.” Drogan said this with a little more humility this time. He was a master at manipulating most living things; however, he had had no affect whatsoever on the formidable witch.
“Very well, out with it then.” She did not like being linked to this dark creature, but it was the only way to communicate effectively over the vast distance that separated them. She had other matters to attend to that were more important than any information that the earth-loving lord possessed. She did not believe that anything stored in his mind would be of any value to her plans. She mentally sighed as she waited for the dark lord to spit out whatever information he had obtained.
“As you wish, Kana the ever so patient one. There was an image of some ball that appeared to have vast power. It was clear by virtue of the significant mental defenses that were employed that this magical ball was of the utmost importance.”
“The question is who this object belongs to and why it is important?”
“It seems to me that this ball is important to the guardian himself. That is what I think.”
“I will look into this matter further. If it proves to be of any worth, then you will be rewarded. For now, you will still be given reign over the north lands as we agreed before.”
“What do you want me to do with Keb?” At least I gave it a try; she is still underestimating my abilities, so that is something.
“Keep him where he is, and don’t allow him to send any messages. I will take care of the rest. You will not be needed again until the end,” Kana said this with a slight edge to her voice that made it clear that the conversation was over. Drogan said nothing in reply and broke the connection.
What is this ball, and why have I never heard of it before? Is this something the guardian created? Is it a secret weapon that he is planning on using against me? Answers are what I need right now. As she continued to muse over the barrage of questions, she reviewed the images that were captured by Drogan. The ball was in some sort of cave and did not appear to be protected by any visible means. It was probably protected by magic of some kind. The ball seemed to have every color in it and did not look particularly impressive when she first saw it. As Kana continued to scrutinize the image, it hit her. This ball contains all of the elements of this world! How is that possible? And, more importantly, why would someone put all four elements into an orb like this? What purpose would that serve?
Fall from Grace
The sky above was clear, and the stars shone brightly overhead as Mistress Khalida made her way through the dense underbrush. The moon cast awkward shadows through the trees and thick foliage. As she neared the border of the Seda’s realm, she could feel the presence of several of the spectral creatures. Why had he requested a meeting here of all places? This cannot be a good omen. As she continued to push her way through to the designated meeting place, she stumbled into a wide clearing of burnt trees and charred earth. She realized that she had just entered the burnt remains of the portion of the Seda’s home that was damaged during the siege of Tarisdell. This made the situation even more perplexing because the guardian did not care for these foul spirits. He was the one who had banished them to this secluded place all those centuries ago.
In the distance a white, furry object appeared to be making its way toward her. This was no ordinary fur ball; this was Osborn, the largest white bear in all of Tuwa. He was also the trusted steed of the guardian himself. As Khalida looked closer, she could see her beloved sitting atop the snow-colored beast. It was then that she noticed that there was another bear beside Osborn. This bear was not quite as large as the white bear, but its size was greater than almost every other bear on the continent. The creature had once been Khalida’s steed years ago. She had an uneasy feeling of deja vu come over her as she watched the pair of massive beasts approach her. They were as tall as the shortest giant when they stand on their hind legs and weighed many times more than one of the heaviest giants.
“I am glad to see that you are well,” welcomed the guardian with a warm smile. Osborn stopped and let his master slide off his back. Khalida and Adair embraced one another tightly for moment.
“What news do you bring?” she asked straight away. She did not like to waste time…especially when war was looming on the horizon. A feeling of apprehension swept through her as she looked at the guardian.
“I am afraid that Lord Keb has been imprisoned by your dear sister. She has entrapped him in Mount Mephistopheles in the farthest reaches of the north lands.”
“What? Why has she done this?” Khalida asked this a little more angrily than she had intended. Her nerves were on edge and her restraint was non-existent.
“I share your frustration with your sister, believe me. She has done some horrific things that defy all logic for someone with her knowledge. She not only entrapped our dear friend Keb, but she has also tortured him for information.”
“Oh no. Has she found out anything? Does she know about the orb?” She clasped her hands tightly over her mouth at this revelation.