Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Lady Elaryindril & Cyrus Knowles the Quarterback: Book IV, Part 2

LE&CKQ-Book IV, Part 2-LOW.jpg

LADY ELARYINDRIL
and
CYRUS KNOWLES
the Quarterback

Volume One of the Kingdom of AtoL Serie
by Marty Reeder



Book IV:
Ultimate Heroes





Part 2

Dëwht-åh-mæhrø stumbled to the ground, still managing to cradle the rock in his hands. Lady Elaryindril and Cyrus Knowles the Quarterback were there within seconds.

“Dëwht-åh-mæhrø,” Elaryindril asked, “are you hurt?”

Through the beard and wrinkles, Dëwht-åh-mæhrø managed to open his eyes and say, “I should recover. I’m very weak at this moment.”
“I’d say so,” Cyrus remarked, “you just took out the Wraith Dude with some pretty fancy trick play.”

They succeeded in getting Dëwht-åh-mæhrø into a resting position while still sitting down. He took a couple of deep breaths and seemed to be gathering strength. Elaryindril could not help but ask, “So what was that fancy trick play you did?”

Dëwht-åh-mæhrø’s eyes twinkled momentarily. “Well, I had been in the room for a while listening to the Wraith Lord speak to you. When he spoke about the connection between our two worlds, I realized that if he could use his powers from his world to effect changes in ours, then I should be able to do the same to his. I reached with my powers into the area where I felt his magic entering our world and I followed it back. I pushed aside his orb of power first. After that, once I found the source of his gateway to our world, I knew that I would simply need to remove their linking points and his gateway to our world would be removed.”

“So you pushed the electromagnetic field conductors out of range of each other and broke off Mr. Cowles’s connection with the Kingdom of AtoL,” Lady Elaryindril noted.

Dëwht-åh-mæhrø did not understand everything Elaryindril had surmised, but he felt she covered the gist of it. He nodded.
“Then what’s with the rock thing? Where’d you get it, and why didn’t you use it against the Wraith Guy before?” Cyrus asked observing the black rock sitting on Dëwht-åh-mæhrø’s lap.
The sage sorcerer looked down at the rock. “Sorcerers channel their powers from special Lode Stones. You can see that I have one in the top of my staff,” Dëwht-åh-mæhrø nodded over to his fallen staff. They saw the black stone attached to the top. “From these Lode Stones, we are able to extract and magnify our magic while focusing it on our intended object.”
“That’s why you are from the Order of the Extraction Lode Stones,” Elaryindril interrupted.
“That’s right,” Dëwht-åh-mæhrø confirmed, then continued. “We’ve always known that the Lode Stone with the most powers has been on the floor of the Room of Visions in the Temple of the Goddess of AtoL. We have not dared use it because we felt that it made the visions of the Goddess of AtoL possible. However, after barely escaping the Night Shriekers and Caped Horned Beasts, and knowing that the wärgs were on their way, I felt that the time had come for the Chief Lode Stone to be employed--even if it meant risking the visions that have guided our society for centuries.”
“Centuries?” Cyrus asked. He turned to Elaryindril, “Is that the half horse/half dude thing?”
“That’s a centaur. Centuries means hundreds of years,” Lady Elaryindril replied patiently.
“So these guys have been listening to Mrs. Avalon for hundreds of years? How’s that possible? I mean, I know it’s possible, as long as you sleep through the boring stuff. But I mean her visions are from stuff this school year, right? … not hundreds of years ago ...”
“It seems like the visions did come from this year’s class,” Elaryindril answered. She pondered carefully. “I’m thinking that because this world is in a different dimension, it’s possible that the electromagnetic currents connecting them are not necessarily limited by time.”
“So for years and years in the Kingdom of AtoL, people’ve been getting visions of Mrs. Avalon’s lectures from our class this year?”
“That’s what it seems like,” Elaryindril shrugged.
Cyrus was lost in deep thought for a moment. “What’d’ya think made our year be the big year. I mean, I know I’ve got a big ego, but even I don’t think I’m that big of a deal.”
Elaryindril considered for a moment. “Remember the beginning of the year? How those pipes beneath Mrs. Avalon’s room burst?”
“Best day in English ever,” Cyrus replied.
“It took a whole week for them to go beneath the floor and fix everything up,” Elaryindril said, thinking as she spoke.

“And we got to have class in the gym that whole time. I thought I was in heaven!”

Elaryindril kept speaking, “What if they unsettled a large magnetic rock in the process? That would be enough to strengthen a connection with the Kingdom of AtoL. If it was an abrupt enough action, it might even have caused the connection between worlds to warp across time.”
Cyrus squinted. “So the worker dudes might’ve made it happen.”
“Exactly.”
Dëwht-åh-mæhrø had closed his eyes while Cyrus Knowles the Quarterback and Lady Elaryindril discussed. They turned back to him. “So you went and got the Chief Lode Stone, and then you brought it back to the fortress?” Elaryindril asked.
Dëwht-åh-mæhrø’s eyes snapped open. “I made it past the herd and Night Shriekers with a fair amount of ease, since I was still using my magic to remain invisible. Besides, they seemed confused, I assume from your actions in getting past them. Then I found all of you in the Wraith Lord’s vision chamber. I listened in on his discussion with you, formed a plan, and then acted as soon as the wärg attack became too much for you two to handle.”
“Game saving TD, Bro,” Cyrus nodded respectfully.
Elaryindril nodded as well. “It’s true. You saved us.” She then grinned as she started to realize something. “Plus, we thought you had died. That’s usually what happens: the old mentor instructs the young protagonist and then dies in a glorious sacrifice, which you did. But then you didn’t really die! That, of course, is another great fantasy twist, when the old mentor seemingly resurrects. I’m really glad that you fit that pattern, Dëwht-åh-mæhrø!”
“I cannot decipher all that you just said, Lady Elaryindril, but it felt wise and sincere. So I thank you.” Dëwht-åh-mæhrø closed his eyes for a long moment before opening them again. “Now, I think it is time to introduce you both to the main city of the Kingdom of AtoL so that you can receive a proper welcome for your heroic deeds.”

“Heroic deeds? Are you kidding me? Dude-Tomorrow, you were totally clutch. I think you get the MVP of the game. You got rid of the Wraith Guy and saved us from the wolfärgs.”

Dëwht-åh-mæhrø smiled softly. “Saye Rünowele da Dertjerack is the great legend the people have been waiting to see for generations. And you lived up to your reputation, performing tremendous feats, even though you were reluctant to leave and be apart of the journey at first. Let me remind you that I needed to be invisible to get past the Caped Horned Beasts and Night Shriekers. You accomplished that by sheer physical ability.”
Cyrus Knowles the Quarterback brushed his hand in the air. “That ain’t nothing. The real legend should be Lady Elaryindril. I may have some brawn, but she’s the Offensive Coordinator--the brains behind the operation.”
Lady Elaryindril blushed. “I never thought I’d be flattered to be called an offensive anything, but thank you, Cyrus Knowles the Quarterback. Still, I think you both overestimate my participation in this triumph.”
Dëwht-åh-mæhrø looked from one to the other and his eyes, tired though they were, twinkled. “It appears Saye Rünowele da Dertjerack is not the only reluctant hero. The ultimate hero has a point, though, Lady Elaryindril; and I believe you will long be remembered as an equal partner in this great conquest of evil.”
The ancient sage paused and then added. “Now, I once again ask if you’ll join me in celebrating our victory as soon as I am able to recover strength.”
Cyrus Knowles the Quarterback looked over at Lady Elaryindril. “School’ll be out about now. If we don’t go back soon, I’ll miss out on weights and conditioning.”
Lady Elaryindril shoved Cyrus playfully. “Maybe you could consider dodging an entire herd of crazed buffalo and flock of wild bats as conditioning, not to mention fighting off deranged fish and wolves.”
Cyrus thought about it and chuckled. “I guess so. Even if Coach probably won’t believe it.” He paused. “But, we can’t leave here without Lady Elaryindril getting a good tour of the place. She’s dreamed of it probably as long as I’ve dreamed of playing in the Superbowl.”
Elaryindril smiled. “True. But we don’t have to stay forever just on my account. I’ve got a quiz that I should really study for tonight since I’m sure the teacher won’t be in the mood to give me any breaks!”
Dëwht-åh-mæhrø’s head tilted thoughtfully. “You two make a strange but formidable alliance. I am pleased. As soon as I’m able to stand, I’ll take you all the way to the capital of the Kingdom of AtoL, where we will deliver the good news to the citizens. Then the prominent members of the kingdom will want to meet with you.”
Cyrus Knowles the Quarterback reached down and wrapped Dëwht-åh-mæhrø’s arm around his shoulder, then lifted him up. “You don’t need to wait to stand up. I’ll help you walk, Dude-Tomorrow. How far away is this capital?”
Lady Elaryindril interrupted. “I am estimating that it is about a twenty minute walk from here up a small hill.”
Dëwht-åh-mæhrø eyed Elaryindril curiously. “The Lady is once again correct.”
Elaryindril winked at Cyrus and said, “Crater City Downtown.”
Cyrus Knowles the Quarterback started helping Dëwht-åh-mæhrø out of the chamber. “You’re pretty sharp, Lady.” After a couple of steps, his face brightened. “But I can be sharp sometimes too. I think you’ll agree when I tell you my idea for our English project.”
Lady Elaryindril fell into step behind the two men. “And what is your idea, Oh Sharp One?”
“For the project we can write a story about a fantasy land that uses all the characters from the books we were supposed to read this year.”
Elaryindril pursed her lips. “You know it pains me to say it, Cyrus Knowles the Quarterback, but that is actually a great idea.”
Cyrus gave a furtive glance over to Elaryindril. “My next great idea is that you’ll write it.”
Lady Elaryrindril supported Dëwht-åh-mæhrø on his other side. Her hand inadvertently touched Cyrus Knowles the Quarterback’s while propping up the wizened man’s back. Neither recoiled. Instead, Elaryindril said, “The only reason that’s a good idea is because you’re a dumb football player who doesn’t know how to write for all the gems of the Lower Rrøcfâll Empire.”

“Game over,” Cyrus Knowles grinned.

End Volume One of the Kingdom of AtoL Serie